My first thought today while reading the chapter was 1 Corinthians 9:24-27
“Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one receives the prize? So run that you may obtain it. Every athlete exercises self-control in all things. They do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable. So I do not run aimlessly; I do not box as one beating the air. But I discipline my body and keep it under control, lest after preaching to others I myself should be disqualified.”
Specifically about the boxer just beating the air. With modern technology I imagine a young person playing Virtual Reality video games with their goggles on, swinging at the air hitting nothing and something all at the same time. Maybe spiritual formation feels like that to us sometimes. But there is a more concrete plan.
I also appreciate the thoughts about the disconnect we might have concerning people who lived 2,000 years ago. There is much that is different between their life and ours. Yet, much of the human experience remains the same: smiles, laughter, heartache, betrayal, envy, blessings, injustice, depravity as Ecclesiastes says, there is nothing new under the sun, everything that’s been done before will be done again. In a disordered world there is much that is common in all generations. History is there to learn from. Case studies are rarely made up stories, they are the ones we use to prepare us for life that might come our way.
Finally the last sentence bears repeating…”What small steps in your life would quietly and certainly lead to inner transformation?
Truth, Grace, and Time 