Spiritual Movement

Our society and world are always moving. Sometimes quickly, sometimes slowly, sometimes backward, sometimes forward… but culture is always moving. In this fast-paced world, we must listen to the whisper of God to pull away, be still, and "know that He is God." I am also aware of Jesus' words to sisters Mary and Martha that it is good to sit at Jesus' feet, as this was the "one thing that mattered most." We must practice the discipline of stillness with great frequency.
 
As I read the pages of the New Testament, though, Jesus appears to indicate that our soul, or our heart, is also in continual movement. Either it is moving closer toward the Father or further away from him. I would even say that Jesus is more concerned about our heart's direction than its position. (Think of Zacchaeus, whose heart and behavior were far from God, but from a distance, still longed to see Jesus. Jesus honored his desire, while those whose conduct would have seemingly put them close to God had hearts that were turned away from him).

 Each thought, decision, and action will determine how our soul moves. While there is grace and invitation to return when we are moving the wrong way, the thrill of moving our hearts closer to the heart of God is unrivaled. As long as we are moving, there is always hope for us.

 The danger comes when our soul stops moving altogether…when fear or comfort prevents us from taking steps towards God. This is a common problem in the lives of many who define themselves as 'Christian' and is the primary reason why almost 90% of our Churches in the US are either declining or stagnant. As Christians, we should always strive to move closer to Christ. We call this holiness.

I was recently challenged on this by a quote that I heard from Andy Grove, founder and former CEO of Intel. He asked his CFO, "If we were to get kicked out and the board brought in a new CEO, what would he do? Why shouldn't we walk out of the door, come back in, and do it ourselves?"

 So often, we fail to move because we get stuck. Our sentiments, emotions, and insecurities get the better of us, and because we become comfortable with where we are, we put the brakes on spiritual movement. This quote speaks deeply to some of the activities of the Church, but also to the activities of the soul. Let me rephrase this quote to challenge our soul –

 "If someone else was to take care of the stewardship of our life, following the great God that we profess to, how would our lives be led differently? With fresh eyes on our behavior and attitudes, what would we need to do differently? What would need to change? What would be added and removed from our lives to keep us moving forward?"

 Think objectively about your spiritual movement. Move forward.