Chapter Twelve - Progressing
Progressing
“What matters, what Heaven desires and Hell fears, is precisely that further step, out of our depth, out of our control.”
- C. S. Lewis[i]
I look out of my study window and follow the progression of a tree’s growth in the neighbor’s yard. In the spring I see green buds on gray branches, signs of life and hope. In the summer, those branches are hidden by a blanket of lush green leaves which produce small red berries, proof of abundance on which birds feast. Now in the fall the leaves are turning orange, yellow, and red - fire for the eyes. In a month, when winter has entered the neighborhood, the leaves will have left, leaving the tree ashen and barren, waiting for spring.
I am that tree. Spring and summer have passed and now fall is upon me. With the cold and dampness there is a beauty that only comes in the penultimate. Fall is the time to reflect and record what spring and summer have brought. In the fall stage of life there is nothing to prove, yet much to savor. Perhaps there will be a winter, but if so, it is still a way off in the distance.
For a long time, during the spring and part of the summer of my life, I thought that the things I did (ministry) were the most important. They are not. Sometimes the greatest enemy to Christian ministry is the ministry itself. For it can become idolatry. I have repented of that.
Are we in our Spring? Or in our Summer? Perhaps, like me, we are in the Fall of our lives, or possibly the Winter. Regardless of what season we find ourselves in, what is most important is the growth (or non-growth) that our lives are evidencing. Learning to live humbly has much to do with personal spiritual growth, progressing on our journey of becoming more like Jesus.
Consider the following diagram which I have labeled the Growth Scale. The Apostle Paul endured great pain, birth pain, in his desire to see Christ formed in the believers who were part of the churches he planted in Galatia. The Growth Scale lays out for us three possible descriptions of how evidently Christ is being formed in us: progressing, stagnating, or declining in Christ-likeness.
It is important that we assess where we see ourselves on the Growth Scale. Are we progressing, stagnating, or declining in our walk with Jesus?
Learning humility will entail a life of steady progression, not perfection but progress. When IRS agents are trained to uncover fake US dollar bills, they are drilled on noticing the details on government-authorized money. They do not spend much time on counterfeit money. When these agents are well acquainted with the details of official bills, detecting falsehood is easy. Thus, it will be for us; we will not spend much time looking at stagnation or decline, as they are self-explanatory, but at what it would mean to lead a life of growth or progression in the Christian life.
Growth Scale
Relishing God’s Word
Perhaps the prophet Jeremiah had just enjoyed a sumptuous meal, exquisite taste lingering on his memory palette, when he penned these words. “When your words came; I ate them; they were my joy and my heart’s delight.” (Jer 15: 16, NIV). Joy is what is ours when we commune with God over his word.
Many metaphors that describe God’s word in its freshness, power, beauty, and truth to guide us.
The Bible is like a fire that burns away all of the dross of our lives (Jer 23: 29).
It is like honey, sweet to the taste inviting more of the same (Ps 119: 105).
It is a sledge hammer that breaks down evil barriers (Jer 23: 29).
It is mother’s milk that sustains and allows for growth (1 Pet 2: 2).
It is a sword that cuts so precisely exposing our inner world (Eph 6: 17).
It is a seed from which goodness flourishes (1 Pet 1: 23).
It is a mirror that lets us see who we really are (Jam 1: 23).
But above all of these, the Bible as a meeting place between us and God himself is “my joy and my heart’s delight.” It is that for those who are making progress in their Christian lives. Though the mind is engaged when we read the Bible, ultimately it is the heart that is stirred. We savor its truth because we in turn savor friendship with the God of truth.
Why is it that far too many Christians, when they open the Bible and begin to read, feel nothing? It’s like standing at home plate, swinging and missing as the ball comes whizzing past us. Sometimes it comes down to not knowing how to go on a date with God.
Joy-filled Bible reading is like dating. The thrill of being with a person we like or love is enhanced by the anticipation we have before the date. Enjoying friendship with God in Bible reading has much to do with anticipation. He is waiting to love on us. Are we expecting to be embraced and surprised by being emersed in love with the God of the universe?
Jean-Pierre de Caussade, Jesuit priest and spiritual director to many in the eighteenth century France conveys to us his insight in how to read for more than intellectual gain. “Fix your attention upon what you are reading without thinking about what follows . . . Pause briefly, from time to time, to let these pleasant truths sink deeper and deeper into your soul, and allow the Holy Spirit time to work . . . Simply let the truths sink into your heart rather than into your mind.”[ii]
[i] C. S. Lewis, “A Slip of the Tongue,” The Weight of Glory (San Francisco: HarperCollins Publishers, 2000), 191.
[ii] Nouwen, 51.