Exercise is not fun. Personally I loathe having to do exercise. Yet I can’t deny that it does have some profit to it. The Bible confirms that though exercise doesn’t have much profit to it, it is still profitable. In fact the Scriptures tell of another type of exercise, a spiritual exercise that is much more beneficial. The exercise of our bodies is contrasted to the exercise of our godliness. That’s all found in I Timothy 4:7-8.
An interesting thing about exercise is that it is beneficial. In fact, without it we may die. This applies as much to our physical as well as spiritual exercise. To sample life, a life lived to the fullest (in Christian terms “abundant life”) one must learn to exercise. It is by exercise that one succeeds. It’s not about talent. Talent merely shows an easier propensity towards that success, but even unexercised talent can be useless. Whereas exercises speaks of discipline.
God is not a disciplinarian God. Or is He? He does have a yoke for us to bear, and although it is a light yoke, it is still one that must be borne. Not everyone enjoys spiritual exercises or disciplines. Even so they are vital for success in Christian living. The Scriptures make much of spiritual graces, for example the fruit of the Spirit. We love God (love). We enjoy God (joy). We trust God (faith). And so many other graces are available to us as support for the disciplines we also have to bear. The Bible also makes much of spiritual disciplines. Because we love God we talk with Him. Because we enjoy God we enjoy fellowship with others. Because we trust God we serve Him with absolute surrender. These are all, of course, primitive examples.
So what happens when these spiritual disciplines are not fun anymore? That is when one strives for virtue, which Lewis noted, that even attempted virtue brought light. Exercise is not always fun. Spiritual exercises should become fun, or enjoyable, because our motivation is love.
An interesting thing about exercise is that it is beneficial. In fact, without it we may die. This applies as much to our physical as well as spiritual exercise. To sample life, a life lived to the fullest (in Christian terms “abundant life”) one must learn to exercise. It is by exercise that one succeeds. It’s not about talent. Talent merely shows an easier propensity towards that success, but even unexercised talent can be useless. Whereas exercises speaks of discipline.
God is not a disciplinarian God. Or is He? He does have a yoke for us to bear, and although it is a light yoke, it is still one that must be borne. Not everyone enjoys spiritual exercises or disciplines. Even so they are vital for success in Christian living. The Scriptures make much of spiritual graces, for example the fruit of the Spirit. We love God (love). We enjoy God (joy). We trust God (faith). And so many other graces are available to us as support for the disciplines we also have to bear. The Bible also makes much of spiritual disciplines. Because we love God we talk with Him. Because we enjoy God we enjoy fellowship with others. Because we trust God we serve Him with absolute surrender. These are all, of course, primitive examples.
So what happens when these spiritual disciplines are not fun anymore? That is when one strives for virtue, which Lewis noted, that even attempted virtue brought light. Exercise is not always fun. Spiritual exercises should become fun, or enjoyable, because our motivation is love.
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