Renovation of the Heart in Daily Practice: Chapter 9

A promise and a job description.

I appreciate the promised land metaphor as compared to our walk with the Lord. The invitation goes out for people to be engaged in God’s Kingdom and while a yes answer offers a whole multitude of promises, just like the Israelites there is much work to be done to live in the fullness of all of God’s promises. God’s presence and power are an overwhelming part of the story for Israel and for our lives. But the Israelites needed to be engaged in driving out the enemies of God.

While this is largely God’s effort, we have a role to play as well. It reminds me of a book titled “Real Christians Don’t Dance.” with the dance crossed out. In one chapter the author addresses this idea. “The largest responsibilities in my relationship with God are all His: His grace, His love, His forgiveness, His faithfulness, and His mercy– without these, it would be impossible for me to know Him. But many duties are also mine: my faithfulness, my whole-hearted love, my obedience, my honesty, my confession, my repentance. No one, not even He, can do them for me.”

Spiritual formation is a task that we need to be engaged in beyond simply responding to the gospel message. Jesus in His ministry was giving people words and actions to demonstrate before our eyes what His Kingdom was all about. Just like the Israelites had an assignment to claim the Promised Land, with God’s help (which is a huge Clause in this sentence!!), God invites us into His Kingdom, but it means we need to pay attention to arrange our lives around His priorities when we generally love to arrange it around our own priorities. Which includes but is not limited to washing the feet of the one you know is about to betray you.

Being formed into Christlikeness is as big a task as taking over the Promised land. For whatever ways we feel overwhelmed by the task, God invites us to tasks that aren’t too big, and maybe it’s going to take years to complete the task. But the good news is that “He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion, until the day of Christ Jesus.” Phil 1:6