‘I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.’ (v20) Galatians 2:20–21
I struggled at school, always feeling disengaged in the classroom. Quickly bored, my mind yearned to explore things I was interested in. When priorities are set for us, we can quickly lose focus, grow frustrated and become demotivated. So spiritual formation is only fruitful when it’s our choice and not something expected of us. It must be our chosen priority.
A priority is something of first importance in our lives. As disciples, we choose to put God’s interests first (John 3:30). In busy lives, it’s easy to miss our priorities or is it? Actually, there are many things we successfully achieve every day; these prove to be our true priorities.
Whilst priority lists capture what needs to be done, what actually gets done reveals our true priority. Paul had no doubts; Christ came first. Reading his life story in Scripture supports his declaration. What priorities does my life reveal? Bonhoeffer wrote: ’The cross is laid on every Christian. The first Christ-suffering which every man must experience is the call to abandon the attachments of this world. It is that dying of the old man which is the result of his encounter with Christ.’
Sounds intense! But once we make spiritual formation our #1 priority, it brings order and purpose to our daily life, informs our choices and creates great peace of mind. Gone are the struggles with thoughts such as ‘I should’ and ‘I ought’, replaced with a simple ‘I will’.
RELATED SCRIPTURE TO CONSIDER: Luke 9:23–36; John 12:24–26; Eph. 4:17–24; Phil. 3:7–14.
AN ACTION TO TAKE: Bonhoeffer also wrote: ’Discipleship is not an offer that man makes to Christ’. God has called you; how does that influence your primary priority in life?
A PRAYER TO MAKE: ‘Lord, help me to deny myself, take up my cross daily and follow You entirely. Amen.’
Photo by Jo Szczepanska on Unsplash
