Do I Really Have to....?

Maybe, maybe not. But that's beside the point for now.

Anyway, what's this whole "discipline" thing about? I must say that I have not been overly fond of it in the last several years. Now, I still got homework done, assignments turned in, and all that sort of thing. But what if you're not being told to do something and there is no pass/fail option in the works?

What if you have to be self-motivated?

*Gasp!* Oh no! All these years, I've had external motivation to rely on - my parents telling (and kept telling) me what I need to do, teacher giving assignments, coaches giving homework, etc. So what do you do when what you get is clearly up to you?

As I said, I have not been too hot on disciplines. The resason for me is that I have seen many people substitute disciplines for relationship with God (reading their Bible for exactly 30 minutes each day, praying a prayer before each meal and bedtime, and stuff like that). See, these disciplines can become crutches and in time the "means to the end" (growing close to God) turn into the "end" itself (the goal no longer is to get closer to God, but to do my disciplines each day like a "good boy" would).

So, how do we construct disciplines with God that allow for His style of creativity and spontanaeity? Remember, while He is overjoyed that we spend the time with Him, He's not too hot on sitting inside our 30 minute boxes :). What about setting aside a time each day to do something new with Him? Then, as you begin to have more and more fun with Him, allow the discipline to grow and don't look at the clock to tell you when to end your time with Him. Who knows? You might have so much fun doing something He likes to do that you forget about tiem completely!

This is called ectsasy or being enraptured with Him. Ask Him what He wants to do with your time and then do it with Him! You may find that God is not nearly as boring or regimented as you thought!

Now, there are sometimes seasons when we are seemingly not able to experience God in this way. This is where the discipline comes in. The goal is to get back to that place of rapture with Him. Some people think the seasons of rapture are passing and are not to be expected. This is not true - in Song of Solomon, the bride is in a continuous state of enchantment with her bridegroom (as a picture of our relationship with God). The only part where this changes is when he draws away from her, but this so that she will pursue him. He never intended to leave her in that place of separation. So even in the seasons of not-feeling Him, the goal is still as stated above: to get back to the place of rapture with your heavenly Lover.

And in this context, disciplines are valuable. But NEVER let the discipline become the goal.

John H.