Unmodified

I have been blessed by having the opportunity to exercise here on a regular basis and after a year of the same routine I got into a rut and was looking for something different.  I came across a website helping hunters get into mountain shape, that is the ability to get into the mountains, carry heavy loads and be successful in their pursuit of game. The website is www.traintohunt.com. Following their protocol and also learning about CrossFit  principles has really changed my approach to training and physical well being. It has been a great gift and one I am thankful for. I could post about my thankfulness in discovering this path of fitness but my point is slightly different.

In doing the workouts listed on the TTH website I find myself modifying many of them since I don’t have the strength to complete them as prescribed. I modify the workouts which is fine. However when they asked us (subscribers to the site) to reflect on our 2012 fitness goals I thought growing to the place of being able to perform the workouts unmodified was a good goal. It will take intentionality and focus for me be able to train unmodified by year’s end. When talking with a friend about my goal he suggested that unmodified become my theme word for the year to give me focus. It made me think about following Christ. I asked myself the question about my discipleship. Here is the question:  am I seeking to live as an unmodified disciple of Christ?

It is tempting to want to take only Christ’s invitation and not his challenge. We like being invited to everlasting life, being part of a group of people and a sort of eternal security. However, at times we can shy away from his challenge to learn to live life as he lives life. We can resist altering our use of time and money. We hold back from examining our values and seeing if they are consistent with his values. We know doing all of this will change our lives and we aren’t sure we want the life change, or if we do we want it on our terms. In other words we are living modified. The challenge is to live unmodified.

Unmodified looks something like this prayer by Charles de Foucauld:

Father, I abandon myself into your hands. Do with me what You will, whatever You do, I will thank You, I am ready for all, I accept all. Let only Your will be done in me, as in all your creatures, and I’ll ask nothing else, my Lord.

Into your hands I commend my spirit; I give it to You with all the love of my heart, for I love You, Lord, and so need to give myself, to surrender myself into Your hands with a trust beyond measure, because You are my Father.

Praying this way takes courage and trust. It takes courage to take the focus off ourselves and onto Christ. Instead of us being the center of our lives Jesus and his kingdom take center stage. It takes trust because we don’t see the future; we simply see the cross and know that we are giving ourselves into the hands of the One who loves us beyond words and our comprehension. The result is that we find life in all its fullest. For it is learning to live as Jesus’ disciple that we both lose all and gain all. It is good and right to surrender ourselves into the hands of the One who made a redeemed us. Let us live unmodified.

Notes on God's Love

From time to time I am asked or get into conversations on the love of God and our experience of that love. It is a hip topic today and lots of books are being written about it. I am glad it is a popular topic and authors are trying their best to help people experience that love. What concerns me though is that we can very easily make experiencing the love of God a work, a badge of honor or way of making ourselves feel in. It becomes a sign that "we've got it". If for some reason we don't "get it" then we feel like less of a Christian.

Christ is the focus of our lives and we should keep him and the truth at the center. How we experience Him, his love and our development is up to him. Remember, Jesus is the Great Shepherd of our souls and he knows what we need. It is important not to be taking our spiritual temperature all the time and figuring out where we are. Rather we build our lives on the truth of his Word and look to him as our teacher and Lord. Many times we live by trust in his Word especially when we are in spiritual valleys or in the desert. It is trust and faithfulness that keeps our lives going in the right direction. Having grounded our thinking in reality and living healthy rhythms will go a long way is keeping us centered.

One day after a while of living this way we will realize that we have deepened our awareness of being loved; specifically of being His beloved. It may come as a tidal wave or as a simple realization of who we are. Here are words to describe it: simple, ordinary and graceful. Over enough time we come to know that we are  loved. This is what it is to experience God's love, knowing our identity as his beloved. We realize that we have built our lives on simple truth (the scriptures) and rooted deeply in Christ's forgiveness on the cross.

Remember, keep Christ as the focus. He says to "seek first the kingdom". We are to be kingdom seekers and workers. In doing so we will realize we are the king's beloved.

Here are two verses to think on:

Romans 8:39b
Jeremiah 31:3

Grace + Peace,

Jon

Contentment

One of the things about living on an island is that you are just there. It may sound odd but if you have ever lived on a small island you know what I mean about just being there. Living in the States people cover miles a day in their car, pass from neighborhood to neighborhood, city to city in just a matter of moments. Very few live, work and play in the same place, with the same people day after day. If you live on a small island however that is the case. Our island is shaped like a horseshoe and is 3.5 miles from tip to tip and a half mile wide. If you are a runner the longest course is a 10k which is sufficient for most needs.

One of the things to learn living on a small island is how to be there, that is content with what you have, who you have and where you are. That isn't to say we all don't love getting mail with new items like magazines and things we can't buy here. However, no matter how much mail one gets it doesn't change the fact that you need to learn a certain degree of contentment or you can go a little crazy. In the States life moves so fast and is so varied that we can evade a lot of those basic issues. If we aren't content we can just go to a new mall or go the movies or go out to dinner. We just move from thing to thing, not really reflecting on why we aren't content. While life is busy here (no joke, really I'm serious) it is all still here. Which brings us back to contentment.

What really makes a person content? That is a question that island living can teach you if you are willing to listen. I am not saying that people here are any more content than in the States, perhaps less so since we have fewer distractions. Being here, living life in one place has a way of revealing things which might not being revealed living another lifestyle. The Benedictines talk about the vow of stability, being committed to one place and one community for life. I am beginning to understand why.

Contentment doesn't come from riding a bike to work, scuba diving regularly, making money or the other reasons people like life here. There are never enough dives, money or whatever...No, contentment comes from learning to live grounded in where you are and being who you are. That level of contentment is a gift from God through Jesus. Living a life following Jesus has a depth to it that nothing else brings. It settles deep into our being and we know that we are being held, helped and guided through life no matter where we are. We know that a life given to following Jesus isn't wasted which brings a deep peace. The more we get to know Jesus the more we encounter the continual gift of forgiveness, mercy and love. We grown to know deeply how loved and cherished we are. This is where we can rest and be content. We can experience this on a little island, in the big city or in the country. It is a gift offered to all, regardless of background or knowledge or mistakes. Jesus invites all to follow him.