Years ago during graduate studies at Regent College, I had a desperate talk with Eugene Peterson about how my PhD had turned the words of God into a great, big research project. I was trying to read my lifeless Bible, but I was interrupted 1,000 times by children needing to be fed, changed, read to, and more. I begged him to give me a spiritual discipline, some rope to haul me out of the hole I was in.<\/p>\n
\u201cWell, Julie,\u201d he said, \u201cis there anything you are doing in a disciplined manner already?\u201d<\/p>\n
I thought about my newborn daughter, Iona, and the hours that I spent nailed to our couch feeding her. She had reflux, and most of what went into her immediately came up again, which meant that I had to repeat the feed all over again. \u201cNursing Iona is the only thing I can count on,\u201d I said. \u201cShe makes sure of that.\u201d<\/p>\n
He patted my hand, then, like a parent consoling a dissatisfied child who is not content with their lot in life. \u201cJulie, that <\/em>is your spiritual discipline. Now start paying attention to what you are already doing. Be present.\u201d<\/p>\n In that moment and so many others like it, I was weakened by a very common and insidious temptation: I wanted to be for<\/em> Christ instead of being in<\/em> Christ. I saw my familial responsibilities as obstacles to a godly life when in fact they were the very place he wanted to meet me. Accordingly, I had to radically revise my view of obedience to include the simple act of abiding in Christ.<\/p>\n The Bible\u2019s Best Description of Salvation Is a Phrase We Rarely Use – https:\/\/t.co\/5MFY1Ib6Ni<\/a> #salvation<\/a> #JesusChrist<\/a> #service<\/a> #faith<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Peter DeHaan (@Peter_DeHaan) February 5, 2019<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n
\nRead it all<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n