A Letter

  At the conference in NYC I attended in February, Eugene Peterson talked about how he used to write a letter to his congregation every Wednesday.  At the time, I thought it sounded like a great thing to do.  As with many great ideas, it stayed there in NYC as life encumbered my schedule and I wondered what I might write about every week.  I remember reading a quote from Thomas Friedman (I believe) who responded to an inquirer who had thought that being a weekly columnist would be the easiest and greatest job ever by asking them what they would write about this week, and then next week, and then the week after that, and then the week after that...  the point being that the first few weeks may roll easily off the mind, but the next one, and the next one, and the next one are far more challenging.  I won't promise this will be a weekly installation--but perhaps some may find it helpful.

Friends in Christ,
  I am blessed enough to have a spiritual director who hasn't yet given up on me, despite my irregularity in devoting time to the spiritual disciplines he recommends.  He's not a legalistic sort of man, which is a gift because I don't believe Christ calls us to a legalistic faith.  That said, I do believe we need to be rigorous in pursuing spiritual practices that help us grow in faith.  We each need spiritual disciplines--we don't all need the same ones, but we need to ensure that we don't take faith for granted and avoid any commitments because we don't want to be legalistic.  It's a fine line to walk, but the faith Christ calls us to, as I understand it, requires work on our part--not to earn Christ's love, but to let is consume and infect every part of our lives, influencing every single thought and deed.  Our status before God is not dependent on our faithfulness, but our ability to be used as agents of the kingdom in the world to spread God's grace to others does depend on our faithfulness.

  Today, the particular passage I was called to meditate upon was Romans 2:4, in which Paul reminds us that God's kindness is meant to lead us to repentance.  Many of us lament Paul's ability to be clear in much of his writing, but I think this verse is rather clear--God pours out kindness and love upon us, and this should lead us to repent.  I was listening to one of Perry Noble's sermons in the car this morning, and it was discussing how important it is that we view repentance as transformation of the heart, not just our actions.  Repentance demands more than just ceasing a sinful action--it requires that our hearts turn back to God.

  So God's kindness is poured out upon us, intended to lead us to repentance.  In other words, while we were still sinners, God died for us.  (Romans 5:8)  We don't initiate God's action--we respond to it.

  What does repentance lead to?  I think the answer lies back in the Psalms.  Psalm 40:8 says that 'I delight to do your will'.  That sounds to me a lot like a heart that has been transformed by the grace of God poured out!  If our hearts are transformed, we then live out a life that follows God's will--but only after we have experienced God's kindness and grace, and only after our hearts have been transformed.  I think we often try to follow God's will while our hearts are still caught up in guilt and anxiety and fear, and we struggle to understand and to live faithfully.  If we first let the grace and love and mercy of God pour over us, maybe then we'll be better able to follow God, for our hearts will be immersed in wonder at the free grace of God.

  I haven't perfected this, and it's a process that takes a lifetime.  But let's focus on God's kindness first, and let that change our hearts, that our hearts may then lead us out into the world, to follow God to the places he leads us, to serve and love God by loving and serving others!!

In Christ,
Keith