Luke 8:11–15 ‘The seed that fell among thorns stands for those who hear, but as they go on their way they are choked by life’s worries, riches and pleasures, and they do not mature.’(v14)
Very simply, spiritual formation teaches us how we mature as disciples. Many things that engaged us as children we leave behind as we turn our attention to more adult matters. The same process takes place within our spiritual life (1 Cor. 13:11) when we pay active attention to the Holy Spirit (John 16:13).
Whilst physically our bodies grow organically, our spiritual development lies in our own hands. God makes everything freely available for our maturity. We, however, get distracted and hijacked by things that prevent our growth in God. Spiritual formation offers a thorough process by which we can draw closer to God. All distractions aim to choke God’s life within us before it can take root and flourish.
Lent offers the ideal time to reflect on God’s grace and provision for us. It offers the opportunity to decide how we want to respond to Jesus’ resurrection this Easter. A familiar event, yet one we can deliberately use as a benchmark for how we shall choose to live our life going forward.
Scripture to consider: Gen. 4:3–12; Prov. 4:18–27; 1 Tim. 4:4–16; Heb. 5:7–14.
A prayer to make: ‘Lord, may I be diligent in growing up into all that God created me to be. Amen.’
Photo by Uwe Schwarzbach on flickr
