The reason that I haven't posted in a while is linked to the reason I haven't had much substantive spiritual insight in a while, and that's because I've had much less time. Since I moved and reported in to my current job, my schedule is basically waking up around 4:30 am, driving to work, working nonstop (maybe a 10 minute lunch break) until 7:30pm or so, then driving back home, making myself dinner and tomorrow's lunch, watching the Houston Rockets give away the second-round playoffs to the L.A. Lakers, and then going to bed to repeat the process tomorrow.
This practical example begs the question of whether God is there (of course He's there in an ontological sense, but is His presence really felt and is our relationship with Him real) when we don't make time for Him. The answer that we want to be true is that God's grace overcomes the banality of our scheduling. We want God to be big enough so that He presents Himself definitively in our thoughts and inexorably in our lives, to the point where it's not a question of our efforts or our abilities to prioritize Him, but a reminder that He is much bigger than us and able to overcome our obstacles for us. I think there are two primary reasons that you might want the above to be true about God and you. The first is a subscription to reformed theology, which rejects the idea that we in our total depravity achieve anything on our own efforts, but that everything is enabled and accomplished through the unfailing grace of God: if there is any reason that a relationship with God succeeds, it is because of God and not of ourselves. And the second reason is that we are lazy and don't want to make time for God, and it's easier to accept the idea that God can be there for us all week without our having to micromanage our relationship with quiet times, church meetings, bible studies, or planned prayer, than it is to make changes in our schedule and priorities.
The answer that I'm learning to this question is part experiential and part biblical. When I was involved in campus ministry, there was an annual predictable cycle in our ministry and in the spiritual lives of most of our Christian members. In August as the semester started, most Cru students would be very excited about the prospect of seeing old friends, meeting new freshmen, starting up bible study, and engaging in discipleship relationships, but as the semester progressed through the academic tribulations of October, November, and December, enthusiasm and passion would wane, and spiritual droughts and doldrums would start to become more frequent and prevalent. Yet every Christmas break from January 2-7 came the Dallas Winter Conference, and uncannily, the conference would always re-invigorate students' spiritual lives. My friends and I would, without fail, return from DWC refreshed, renewed in our commitment to follow hard after God, awed at what He was doing in our lives and on campus, and very much alive in His presence. What happened? Was there an artificial excitement and possibly even valuable spiritual growth imbued by the conference speakers, the worship band, the seminars, and the activities? Sure, to a small degree. People can always be hyped-up by a band or fun-tivities, but this week also brought real insight and transformation. My strong impression was that students who attended DWC would always be guaranteed a renewed and refreshed love for Christ because they put aside hours and hours each day to invest in their relationship with Him. Like any other relationship that was important to them. They studied His words, they read about His life, they talked earnestly with each other about Him, and they did their damnedest to point their hearts towards Jesus and let His promised transformation take place. Year after year, it was a guaranteed rebirth for a person's relationship with Christ because that person would personally invest the time and make it a priority. It's not a theological argument, but it's a truthful observation. You have to make time for things that are important.
I think the direction of this thought is biblically sound, and the reason that we often wonder dumbfoundedly where God is during the work week is that we've consistently ignored what He's told us to do from the beginning: take a break from the mundane every once in a while, and pay attention to the holy:
"Six years you shall sow your land and gather in its produce, but the seventh year you shall let it rest and lie fallow [...] Six days you shall do your work and on the seventh day you shall rest." -- Exodus 23:10-12
"Surely My Sabbaths you shall keep, for it is a sign between Me and you throughout your generations, that you may know that I am the Lord who sanctifies you." -- Exodus 31:13
The specifics of keeping the Sabbath vary depending on whom you consult and what you read. In Old Testament tradition, the Sabbath was the "Queen of Days" that took precedence over all other days, including Yom Kippur and Passover; weddings could not take place on the Sabbath so as not to distract from the joy of the Sabbath. I don't want to discuss extents of legalism or doctrinal particulars on how to observe the Sabbath because the crux of what I'm learning is that the value is in taking time to "be still and know that I am God." Saturdays or Sundays notwithstanding: we can't complain about how we never feel like God's there or like we can't connect with Him if we don't set aside some time and invest our relationship with Him. Things are by definition made "holy" because they are "set apart" from other trivial things.
That's why when Jesus tells the Pharisees, "The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath," He might be reproving them for their legalism and hypocritical rules about observing the Sabbath, but He also constructively reminds them of the point of even having the institution of the Sabbath: it's for us. It's a gift from God to us, and the intent is for "you to know that I am the Lord."
I have never been diligent or dutiful about observing the 4th of the 10 Commandments, and I have no trouble admitting that I don't have an answer for how you're supposed to do it, but I know that I very often haven't done anything, and that's surely part of the answer of why it's hard to relate to God when my schedule seems too busy for Him.
You have to make time for things that are important.
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3 comments:
this will be a rather unsatisfactory comment, but i would like to point out that reformed theology does not advocate passive activity in a relationship with God. It acknowledges that, because of our totally depraved nature as humans, any response we make to the Gospel or to relationship with God is due to the grace of God. just thought i'd mention it :)
I don't think I'd be a Christian today if it wasn't for the Sabbath. I can think of at least two or three times in my life where, if I hadn't forced myself to spend that time with God, I probably would have drifted away completely.
I'm scheduled to lead a Bible study on how to keep the Sabbath (not if and not when to) next Sabbath. I don't know where I'll find the time to prepare for it, but I'll send you my notes when I do.
To latte artist: true, but I think matt was advocating that more as the reason why people want God present in their lives, as opposed to present-but-not-too-much. But I think the point can still stand - the theology may advocate correctly that God is big and clearly present, but without the caveat that God is also a mystery to man, may hide his face, desires us to reflect on him, etc etc, a person may come to believe that perhaps reflection is not necessary for a God that should be so obvious in his/her life (which would also tend to make their view of God very pop-culture and simplistic).
Going off of this thought, I've met an Episcopalean colleague at UT in the CAAM program, and it's amazing to see his dedication to reflection. I remember a book I read described the evangelical church as always focusing on the needs of the moment - it's urgent that we witness to the lost, feed the hungry, disciple new leaders, etc etc. I partially agree; while reflection and meditation isn't discouraged, the emphasis isn't on them, and these practices can thus be lost fairly easily as churchgoers focus on what is emphasized heavily.
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