Barbells and Church Bells

                I recently began weight training to become stronger and more fit. It isn’t easy. In fact, it is a lot of work. The process involves a great deal more than just having the membership and showing up.  Each day at the gym I have to be intentional about the muscle groups I work. In addition to weight training, I need to do cardio to keep my heart healthy.  When I leave the gym I am sweaty, tired, and often have blisters on my hands.  It doesn’t end there. There are disciplines involved.  In order to get the results I desire, I need to eat properly and hydrate myself. Thankfully, there is also a time to rest and recover.

                This process involves commitment and active participation. I can’t just stand around the gym and watch others do the work. Additionally, I need to be consistent with my workout schedule. I can’t just show up once a week and expect success. I am also learning that this journey is a marathon and not a sprint. It takes time. The results aren’t instant. In the beginning I was sore and exhausted. Now, as the weeks pass, I find that I am growing stronger. I’m slowing stacking more weights on the bar. My endurance on the treadmill is increasing. However, I still have far to go.

                This journey hasn’t only been physical for me. I am learning that it has so many spiritual parallels. Just as a gym membership alone doesn’t make us strong and physically fit neither does a church membership alone make us spiritually strong and mature. It takes a lot more than simply possessing a membership card. The gym has the equipment to assist us, but we need to show up and use it. So it is with the church. It provides opportunities to learn and grow. However, nothing is going to happen unless we show up and begin to do the work.

                Growing stronger in our faith doesn’t happen by just attending church on Sunday morning, just as going to the gym once a week won’t make you much healthier. We grow by daily being in the Word, praying, and worshipping the Lord. These spiritual disciples are fuel and hydration to our souls. They bring about the spiritual transformation that we learn about in Romans 12.

And do not be conformed to this world [any longer with its superficial values and customs], but be [a]transformed and progressively changed [as you mature spiritually] by the renewing of your mind [focusing on godly values and ethical attitudes], so that you may prove [for yourselves] what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect [in His plan and purpose for you].

                It is in these moments we are changed and grow in our faith. Over time, the transformation becomes more apparent.

                I have also been blessed to have some good friends come along side me to encourage me, offer advice, and hold me accountable as I undertake new physical challenges. They have been instrumental to the progress I’ve made. Spiritually we also need others to come along side us for the same reasons. Being part of a community in the form of smalls groups is so very important. While I love Sunday morning worship, I find that more intimate settings are also essential to me.  In my inner circle I can be the most transparent as I seek to grow in the Lord.

                Finally, just as I have a physical goal that I am training for, I also have a spiritual goal that I’m in training for. I love how Philippians 3:12-14 (GW version) expresses this when it says:

I’m not saying that I have this all together, that I have it made. But I am well on my way, reaching out for Christ, who has so wondrously reached out for me. Friends, don’t get me wrong: By no means do I count myself an expert in all of this, but I’ve got my eye on the goal, where God is beckoning us onward—to Jesus. I’m off and running, and I’m not turning back.

                May the Lord bless you as you train, pressing on toward the goal!

                                                                Leslie