SPIRITUAL COUCH POTATOES?

This is the fifth and last in the series on "Wholeness in Christ"

... I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly ..."  John 10:7-10

" ... Run in such a way that you may win it [the race].  Atheletes ... do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable one.."   I Corinthians 9:24-27


What kind of shape would we be in if we only ate and slept once or twice a week?  Or twice a year, we exercised?  We know that physical health requires consistent, healthy habits of adequate rest, good nutritional habits and a daily discipline of physical activity.  Why aren't we investing the same amount of effort in caring for our souls?  Spiritual self-care is important to the health of  our whole being -- mind, body and soul.

I have a lot of respect for long-distance atheletes, like the guys who ride the Tour de France, cross country runners, and folks who participate in the Iron Man and marathon events.  Mainly, it's because, by nature, I am a sprinter who can put on that burst of energy for the short term and then I'm done.  Not these folks -- they train for strength and endurance because they're in it for the long haul.

Not that sprinters don't have their place in this world, but I've found that being a sprinter when it comes to spiritual self-care is not the best thing.  Many of us just kind of veg-out when it comes to our spiritual practices, sort of like spiritual couch potatoes, expecting a Sunday morning and five minutes of prayer and a quick devotional hear and there will do the trick.  Until the going gets tough and then it's all, "we need thee every hour!"

Paul, in I Corinthians 9:24-27, however, uses the metaphor of atheletes training to win a race.  They put in some serious, consistent training time, disciplining their bodies, pushing their physical limits, even when they don't feel like it.  Why?  The atheletes in Paul's time received a wreath of laurel leaves, leaves that would wither and crumble away.  Paul reminds us that the prize we're training for cannot be touched by time nor the challenges and troubles of life.

Through Christ Jesus, we receive enternal life.  Our soul, that which endures beyond our bodies and our minds, is saved from spiritual death, the ultimate loss of life.  That's the life that Jesus promises us plus the gift to live our the life we have not abundantly as whole persons.  

To me, abundant life is the benefit of having a quality relationship with God through Christ.  By quality I mean consistent, daily, whether we feel like it it or not.  It's not only about reading the Bible, praying and attending worship and Bible studies.  A quality relationship means being present in the moment to the grace of God.  It is opening ourselves up, like an empty bowl at the first light of dawn waiting to be filled by the light of Christ.  

The result from spiritual training, self-care of our souls, is that it gives us the strength and endurance to take on the steep hills of the challenges of life, to make it through stormy times and find our way through the canyons of pain and loss.  It prepares us so that when the going gets tough, we have the peace and assurance that Christ will help us make the distance.  

Spiritual self-care is important to the health of  our whole being, mind, body and soul.  In our times of joy and need, it helps us to connect and stay connected with the source of life - God, who created us to be whole persons, mind, body and soul.