DISCIPLINE

A friend of mine handed me a book telling me that it would be a good book for someone within the Concord Community to read. Being in between books myself, I decided to give it a chance. Seventeen pages into it, a simple quote from the Bible stood out. It was from Timothy (4:7):

“Train yourself for devotion.”

I thought: “What a powerful statement.” It serves as a warning and words of encouragement. Paul then went on to compare the benefits of spiritual training and physical training. Each has a singular purpose: one to improve the performance of the physical body and one to improve the performance of the spiritual body in relation to God. Each can take a lot of dedication and hard work. With focus and endurance, one can witness the betterment in these areas. Regarding the physical training: the body will improve and the outcome is self-evident both in appearance and capability. In the spiritual sense, other things will happen.

The purpose here is to write about Spiritual Training. With it, our relationship with God will improve and the understanding of our faith will deepen. How are we to know our faith if we do not practice it? Familiarity comes with repetition. Knowledge deepens when we seek it. Wisdom is only revealed to those who strive for it (“For to men she is an unfailing treasure; those who gain this treasure win the friendship of God, to whom the gifts they have from discipline commend them”-Wis 4:14).

Training is not always easy. It is very hard to enjoy it, yet as improvements are revealed throught it, so will appreciation and dedication. Think about this: Are we the same as when we first came back to the Church? I would have to say obviously not. This in itself is because of training. We saw the improvements in ourselves as we committed ourselves more and more to knowing God. The challenge now is not to be satisfied with the small betterment while ignoring what we can truly gain. The book gave a perfect example:

“Jascha Heifit, the greatest violinist of this century, began playing the violin at the age of three and early began to practice four hours a day until his death at the age of 75-when he had long been the greatest in the world-some 102,000 hours of practice.”

WOW! So, with that example, we must reflect on what could we all accomplish if we just listen to what God wants us to do: walk with Jesus, live our lives according to His teachings, and learn to understand about our faith. Knowledge comes through seeking, understanding through learning, and finally Wisdom through a full awareness of each. From the small amount we each do, we have already witnessed tremendous results. So, why not more?