For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, love. For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.
2 Peter 1:5-8 (NIV)
I
have a game on my phone called Wordscapes. It is a cross between a crossword
puzzle and the game Boggle. Each level presents you with a set of letters that
you have to fit into the right places in the puzzle. The frustrating thing
about this game is that if you get stuck on a level, you cannot go forward
until you figure it out. There are a few helps to get you going, but ultimately
it is up to you to fill in all of the empty spaces.
That
game is a little like our spiritual/life journey. In life there are certain
physical and emotional levels that we all have to progress through. The
physical ones usually come pretty easily, but the emotional ones are different.
These take more time and effort to figure out. If we get stuck on one emotional
level, we cannot progress to the next level. Unlike Wordscapes, you can
temporarily skip a difficult level for a time, but eventually you will have to
come back to it. You cannot become a truly, emotionally healthy person with
holes in your makeup.
The
same is true with our spiritual journey. Most people are aware of the physical
and emotional puzzles that we face in life. But fewer people are really aware
of the spiritual puzzles that we face. In fact, many people are functionally
blind to the spiritual side of their lives. Like a person who is legally blind,
they see their spiritual life only in fuzzy terms. They tend to gloss over it
as if it is not important to their development as a person.
When
a person becomes a follower of Jesus, they become more aware of their spiritual
dimension. They begin to see the holes in their personal puzzle that need to be
filled. Just like with our emotional development, we cannot really skip certain
spiritual areas and just move on. Although our spiritual development is not
technically linear, there is a progression that must take place in order for us
to mature.
At
our church we have been exploring what it means to have emotionally healthy
spirituality. We have learned that our spiritual health and our emotional
health are intricately linked together. We cannot ignore one without doing
damage to the other. The first step to moving in the right direction is to be
aware of our emotional and spiritual state and to honestly evaluate where we
are. Are there areas of growth that we have tried to skip? Are their holes in
our puzzle that we are unaware of?
Peter
gave us a checklist of character traits to help us get a better picture of
where we are on our journey. Although these seem to be progressive, they are
really parallel tracks that support and enhance one another. They are like
layers in a piece of plywood; each layer adding strength to the whole piece. It
is important to see that these character traits are both spiritual and
emotional: add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to
knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to
perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly
kindness, love. Each one of these is a piece of the puzzle. If we leave any
of them out, we cannot attain our goal.
The
good news is that we do not have to do this alone. In fact, we cannot do this
alone. We are dependent upon the work of the Holy Spirit within us to guide us
and empower of along the way. It is a partnership that leads to emotionally healthy
spirituality. As Paul says in Philippians 2:12-13, Therefore, my dear
friends, as you have always obeyed--not only in my presence, but now much more
in my absence--continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for
it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose.
When
we feel frustrated or stuck, we need to humbly ask God to show us which piece
of the puzzle is missing. We also need to ask Him to help us fill in the hole. Each
level needs to be completed before we can really move on. Some levels are
easier than others. Some we will find very difficult. But if we persevere, if
we do not give up, we will make progress toward the goal.
Consider it pure
joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that
the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its
work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.
James 1:2-4 (NIV)
