Flourish: to grow or develop in a healthy or vigorous way, especially as the result of a particularly favorable environment. (dictionary.com)
Jesus’ invitation is to a life of flourishing. (John 10:10, Gal 5:23) – if you imagine the difference between an unhealthy garden and one that’s full of fresh, green, large fruit, Jesus calls us to the latter.
Over the next several weeks, we're going to be sharing spiritual practices that will help you flourish & engage with God in your own life.
Following
To be a follower of Jesus is to be someone who is in the process of being changed.
To flourish is to have your character become like Christ’s and out of that to live a life that looks like Christ’s.
And the Lord—who is the Spirit—makes us more and more like him as we are changed into his glorious image. – 2 Corinthians 3:18, NLT
Abiding
What is the ultimate end that we’re after? Jesus made it very clear - love God with everything we have and love others well.
Following and becoming like Jesus isn’t a result of endless striving and activity; it’s the result of staying connected to Him in relationship. It happens through abiding.
The character of Christ & the fruita of the Spirit grow in our lives through connection – not through effort.
I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. 6 If you do not remain in me, you are like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. – John 15:5-6, NIV
When we abide in him…
- We have fellowship with Him. A central theme in Scripture is that God made us to be in fellowship with him. Deism says that God formed us, wound us up like a toys to spin on our own, while he turned his attention elsewhere. The God of the Bible isn’t like that. He’s after connection.
- We ensure we don’t wither.
- He brings vitality and life. Psalm 19:7, Psalm 23
Flourishing
In order for our souls to flourish, we need to be dynamically connected to Jesus. A key to making this happen is abiding/remaining in him is as we abide or remain in Him through practicing the spiritual disciplines.
Spiritual practices are how we foster our relationship with God – they are how we reach out to him.
Spiritual practices aren’t the end (like we so often make them to be in the church). They are a means to the end. They are what cultivate a flourishing life, they are what produce that healthy, growing garden.
Wrong views of spiritual practices that will keep us from flourishing:
- They are for the spiritually mature (spiritual giants, pastors, monks).
- We don’t have time for spiritual practices.
- I don’t have a personality that lends itself to a contemplative lifestyle.
- I’m the one that has to do all the work and it’s too hard. Wrong way of thinking. A farmer doesn’t grow the seed, he just plants it. We just get in position and let the Holy Spirit do the heavy lifting.
“God has given us the disciplines of the spiritual life as a means of receiving his grace. The disciplines allow us to place ourselves before God so that he can transform us.” Richard Foster