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Trying or Training? Imagine for a moment that you are quietly sitting at home one evening watching T.V. when there is a knock on the door. You open the door to find that standing on your doorstep is a delegation from the N.Z. Olympic Committee who inform you that they have had some serious discussions and the result is that they would like YOU to be the N.Z. representative for the marathon at the next Olympic Games. Of course this is the very moment which you have been waiting for, isn’t it?! Now is your chance to get into those brief marathon togs and show the world how good you are! But suddenly it dawns upon you that you have difficulty running out to the letterbox, let alone a marathon! In fact, you couldn’t run a marathon even if you tried really hard! Trying hard can accomplish only so much. So if you are serious about grasping this chance of a lifetime then you will have to enter into some serious training. You will have to rearrange your life around some practices that will enable you to do what you cannot do now, by willpower alone. When it comes to running a marathon, you must train, not merely try. The need for training is not confined only to athletics, is it? . Training is required for people who want to play musical instruments, sing properly, write books, learn a new language, run a business. In fact, training is required for any significant challenge in life – and that even includes spiritual growth. We learn much more by Training than we do by Trying. And that brings us to today – the first Sunday in Lent. - A time when traditionally we think again seriously about our spiritual growth and development. Is Lent about Trying to be more Christlike, or training to be more Christlike? - and can you really train to be more like Christ? Doesn’t it all sound a bit too mechanical? Well I would suggest that Training to be more Christlike is more practical and more biblical, and a lot more successful than merely Trying. Over the next five weeks through Lent we will be looking at what we call “Spiritual Disciplines for ordinary people” - and we are using as a resource on this, a book entitled “The Life You’ve always wanted” - spiritual disciplines for ordinary people.” By John Ortberg. It’s a helpful book. So today, I want to talk about Training verses Trying to be like Jesus. As we have seen, there is an immense difference between training to do something, and trying to do something, and this principle also applies to our spiritual life. How often do we hear, or are exhorted to “TRY to live more like Jesus”? – and we try, and most of the time we fail - just like I might sit down at the keyboard and try to play it, and if I haven’t trained to play it, I will also fail miserably. We even talk about the Christian faith sometimes as “trying to live like Jesus”! – but that’s not what the Christian faith is about at all. Its not all about us “trying” harder. Unless I have developed some of the skills and abilities in life which Jesus had, then try as hard as I may, I will still not be able to live like Him or respond to life’s challenges as He did.! This is what the apostle Paul means when he encourages his young protégé Timothy to “train yourself in godliness.”- He didn’t say “try to be godly”! Paul uses the familiar imagery of training for athletics when he writes to the Christians in Phillipi when he says how he is “striving to win the prize” – and how he is running straight towards the goal in order to win the prize. Inherent in this imagery is the strong understanding of the necessity for training. So spiritual transformation is not a matter trying harder, but of training wisely. And that’s what Lent is for – it’s a time to get serious about our spiritual training. Over the next five weeks we are going to look at seven practical disciplines which will help us train in godliness – in Christlikeness. You will see the list of them in the pew sheet.- prayer, fasting, almsgiving, reflection on Scripture, confession, celebration and worship. These are things which we can do which will each help us to grow spiritually, and therefore be a way by which God’s grace may work through us more effectively. I believe Jesus was effective when tempted by the devil and overcame those temptations because he had spent the first thirty years of his life “training in godliness “. He didn’t just come out of nowhere – without any background of prayer, or learning of scripture, or communing with God, or fasting or almsgiving – he didn’t just arrive on the scene in the dessert without having spent time in spiritual formation – and then faced Satan head on, and overcame him – just like that! . Im sure there were many other lesser occasions when Jesus knew the power of Satan to tempt and to lead astray, but he had grown through those temptations. I want to conclude with briefly pointing out just three reasons why Training in godliness is important. 1/ To get the most out of life! If I can be more like Christ – then I think there is a much greater chance that I will get on with people better, enjoy relationships with people more, find that life runs more smoothly than before. The apostle Paul writes ( in the epistle for today) that he “doesn’t want to put obstacles in anyone’s way, and so we show that we are God’s servants by patiently enduring troubles, hardships and difficulties.” ( 2Cor.6:3f) Life isn’t always easy, and we need to learn how to patiently endure troubles, how to be kind, how to be joyful even when we don’t feel like it. If I can be more like Christ then the Ten commandments will be less of a challenge for me, because I will want the things which God wants for my life. If I can be more like Christ then mostly I should get on with my neighbours ( and my family) better, handle my finances more sensibly and have better priorities for my life. Just as I get more out of myself physically when I train for a marathon, which I would never get by simply trying, – so I will get more out of my own life, spiritually, and my relationship with others and with Jesus Christ – when I train in godliness. 2/ Training in godliness is important because it’s the only way we mature, or grow up into the likeness of Christ. In Ephesians chapter 4 , the apostle Paul speaks about the church as the Body of Christ and how God gave each of us spiritual gifts which, when we diligently exercise them, and employ them – then the whole church is built up in maturity., Those who are given spiritual gifts, - in order for the church to benefit from them - should also train well in their use. 3/ Training in godliness is important because it pleases God. This really, is a combination of the previous two. Does God want us to grow spiritually – to be more loving, more forgiving, more compassionate, more generous, more joyful – and all those other fruits of the spirit? I believe Yes! And those things only happen, and those fruits of the spirit only grow when we employ the means that help them grow. I am most likely to become a more generous person if I begin to practice giving. Begin in the small things, but keep on giving, and I will find its not so bad after all. I might even enjoy it. Jesus confronted people directly about the choice to become a follower. He came with the gracious announcement that it is now possible to live in the presence and under the reign of God – that was his Good news. It IS possible to live in such a way that when people see us they will say “I didn’t know a life could look like that?” It has happened for many who have followed Christ, and its really possible for us. This is the race for which we were born . But we will not drift into such a life. We must decide to enter into training. Lent is the time to start. |
