February 8, 2010

A Believer's To-Be list Steps to a fresh start with God Philip Yancey | posted 1/01/2001

When I turned 50, I had a complete physical checkup. Doctors poked,prodded, x-rayed, and even cut open parts of my body to assess andrepair the damage I had done. At the same time, I scheduled a spiritualcheckup, too. I went on a silent retreat led by a wise spiritualdirector. In those days of solitude, I pondered what I needed to change to keep mysoul in shape. The more I listened, the longer grew the list. Here is amere sampling, a portion of a spiritual action plan for my next 50 years.

Question your doubts as much as your faith. By personality, or perhapsas a reaction to a fundamentalist past, I brood on doubts and experiencefaith in occasional flashes. Isn't it about time for me to reverse thepattern? Do not attempt this journey alone. Like many Protestants, I easilyassume the posture of one person alone with God, a stance that more andmore I see as unbiblical. The Old Testament tells the story of thepeople of God; Jesus' parables unveil the kingdom; the epistles wentprimarily to communities of faith. We have little guidance on how tolive as a follower alone because God never intended it. Allow the good natural beauty, your health, encouraging words topenetrate as deeply as the bad. Why does it take about 17 encouragingletters from readers to overcome the effect of one that is caustic andcritical? If I awoke every morning, and fell asleep each night, bathedin a sense of gratitude and not self-doubt, the in-between hours woulddoubtless take on a different cast. For your own sake, simplify. Eliminate whatever distracts you from God.Toss catalogs, junk mail, and book club notices in the trash. If I everget the nerve, my television set should probably land there as well. Find what Eric Liddell found: something that allows you to feel God'spleasure. When the sprinter's sister worried that his participation inthe Olympics might derail his missionary career, Eric responded, "Godmade me fast. And when I run, I feel his pleasure." What makes me feelGod's pleasure? I must identify it, and then run. Always "err," as God does, on the side of freedom, mercy, andcompassion. I continue to marvel at the humility of a sovereign God whodescends to live inside us, his flawed creatures. "Quench not theSpirit," Paul says in one place, and in another "grieve not the holySpirit of God." In so many words, the God of all power asks us not tohurt him. Do I show that same humble, non-coercive attitude towardpeople of whom I disapprove? Don't be ashamed. "I am not ashamed of the gospel," Paul told theRomans. Why do I speak in generalities when strangers ask me what I dofor a living and then try to pin down what kind of books I write? Why doI mention the secular schools I attended before the Christian ones? Remember, those Christians who peeve you so much? God chose them too.For some reason, I find it much easier to show grace and acceptancetoward immoral unbelievers than toward uptight, judgmental Christians.Which, of course, turns me into a different kind of uptight, judgmentalChristian. Forgive, daily, those who caused the wounds that keep you fromwholeness. Increasingly, I find God uses our wounds in his service. Byharboring blame for those who caused them, I slow the act of redemptionthat can bring healing. My spiritual checkup offers one clear advantage over my physicalcheckup. No matter what I do my body will continue to deteriorate, but,spiritually I can look forward to growth and renewed vigor as long as Ilisten and then act on what I hear God saying. Condensed from Christianity Today (4/3/00), (c) 2000 Philip Yancey.