Desire

There is a willed desire and a felt desire. The two are not the same, though it’s wonderful when they run together. We can orient ourselves to do good even when it’s inconvenient, uncomfortable, and self-sacrificial. Do good as God is good. It’s okay not to feel good in the moment. Maybe the feelings will catch up. Could this be a distinction between spiritual disciplines (good works) and spiritual practices (with good feelings attached)?

Two Guiding Lights

“Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters.”

— Matt. 12:30

It’s very difficult for the Western mind (including mine) to think in terms of covenant. Our milieu rewards reason, even if one’s reason is faulty or conspiratorial.

To train myself in a Kingdom direction, I hold two statements in mind:

1) We belong together, and together with God. ‘We belong together’ is a ubiquitous phrase these days. There is such a longing for community. Covenantal thinking centers a community on Christ. It’s never ‘me and my Jesus,’ nor is it a community formed around anyone or anything other than Christ.

2) We belong to become. Most groups have a catalog of tests for belonging. It’s expected that ‘becoming’ happens before belonging. Do you qualify? But Jesus dined with sinners. He came to reach outsiders, not insiders. Formation happens by the Holy Spirit, in relationship with Jesus and his other committed followers. We can trust that belonging⏤real belonging⏤will lead to Christlike becoming. This is no forced assimilation. It’s the natural and supernatural trajectory of being a part of the called-out community of faith.

Key to these two statements is the definition of ‘we.’ God our Savior wants all people to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth. All are invited to belong. Come.

Church Street, Bluefield

Collected another Church Street visit.

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Bluefield, West Virginia | ISO160 17mm f22 1/25s