Well, it sure has been awhile since I wrote anything in this
blog. A lot has happened. Most of you know that I’ve transitioned from
active duty Navy after 6 years and am now attending Trinity Evangelical
Divinity School pursuing a master’s degree in pastoral ministry. One month has already flown by, I’ve finished
one class, read 3 full books and many parts of many more, written a few papers,
lost a few hours of sleep, memorized several dozen Greek words, and a few other
random things. I love seminary. I love learning about all of the facets of
the Christian faith. I love laboring
towards the goal of having a knowledge base that is adequate to sustain a
ministry for a few decades.
But while I could entertain you with tons of seminary trivia
and explain how to parse a Greek verb, I’d rather spend some time sharing with
you the most important things that I am learning through seminary, priceless
things that are my real treasures so far.
The title pretty much tells you what I want to talk about.
In 1 Corinthians 13, Paul says that he could have all of the
knowledge in the whole world, and if he lacked love, he would be nothing. I would like to argue that if I gain all the
knowledge in the whole world about being a pastor and I lack godliness, I lack
the very basis for ministry: a transformed, exemplary life. Time and time again, Paul tells people to
imitate him as he imitates Christ. He
tells the Philippians to make sure that they live their lives in a manner that
is worthy of the Gospel of Christ, not setting some ridiculous expectations for
themselves to live up to, but living a life of obedience from the heart for
what Christ has done. That’s where God
has me headed, and I’m so excited about it! What would I consider “success”? To live a life fully pleasing to God. That’s success for all of us.
Now for a couple of things under this umbrella of godliness
that God is teaching me right now.
1. I, like Paul, need to buffet my body rather
than obeying its passions.
It’s not like this is some new concept, but I am gaining a
much more robust understanding of it.
What type of appetites am I allowing to dictate my behavior? Maybe the appetite of my eyes desiring to
look lustfully at a woman or how about the appetite of my ears straining to
hear compliments and praises from men.
What about that of my stomach crying for me to eat another hamburger or
piece of pizza or bag of potato chips?
Maybe it is the appetite of my body to give up and rest before the day
is done.
Who is leading who around by a leash? Sadly, far too often my body is the one
leading me around. That just has to
change. Paul goes as far as to say that
if he doesn’t control and reign in his appetites he could be disqualified after
preaching to other people! That’s a
sobering thought.
What needs to drive me to control my body as it wars against
my soul? The imperishable wreath that
God promises to those who run well is what needs to drive me. I want the reward. I want the “pearly gates” to open and welcome
me into the presence of God. Now, to be
clear, controlling my appetites isn’t what will gain my admittance to
heaven. By grace I am saved through
faith…this is not a result of works.
Salvation is from the Lord, beginning to end. But Christ has set me free to present my
members to God as instruments of righteousness.
I have been purchased by the blood of Jesus and have the privilege of
honoring him with every area of my life.
So…I discipline myself, I buffet my body so that I might not run around
like a chicken with its head cut off. I
purpose to lead my body around by that leash and not be drug around by my body
and its appetites.
This is getting closer to the robustness that Paul had in
mind. This is how I want to live going
forward.
2. Godliness is a cooperative effort.
There has never been a person on the planet that labored
towards godliness in Christ who failed to attain maturity because God didn’t
hold up his end of the bargain. So often
I can be so numb and bored with pursuing godliness as if I didn’t expect God to
come through and change my heart. The
longer and harder a struggle is, the more tempted I become to just throw in the
towel. It is God’s will that I be
sanctified. I feel strongly that it is
God’s will that I become a pastor. So
why am I afraid that I won’t be sanctified enough to attain the office of
church leadership? By God’s grace, my
labor towards godliness is never in vain.
This is good news! I need this
news. I need to have faith in this
truth. And then with that faith, I need
to run the race and cast off all of the weights and the sin that clings so
closely so that I might run efficiently and have the endurance needed to finish
well. The casting off of these things
doesn’t sanctify me, but it sure positions me well to be affected upon by God’s
grace! That’s what I desire.
There are a few other things I could share, but I will stop
with this. Ultimately, character and
godliness are indications that I really know something. To gain knowledge of God’s amazing grace without
maturing in Christ is to gain nothing. I
want to learn the truth which accords with godliness. I want the doctrine that makes me zealous for
good works. I want the information that
will move from my brain into my heart and be rerouted as marching orders for my
hands and feet.
Friend, are you striving for godliness?
Let the Gospel, the power of salvation for all who believe,
change everything about you and live out your faith with a resolve to let God
make you look and think and act like your Lord, Jesus. That’s my hope and prayer for all of us.
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