Jesus’ words, “Are you tired, worn out, burned out on religion…” (Matthew 11:28, The Message) were not words for an unreached people group. Jesus targeted this penetrating question to the men and women who followed him and walked with him. When Jesus spoke of “gaining the whole world but losing your soul”(Matthew 16:26), he again was speaking directly to his apprentices, the disciples.
Caring for Your Soul: What’s the Foundation for your Life?
“These words I speak to you are not incidental additions to your life, homeowner improvements to your standard of living. They are foundational words, words to build a life on. If you work these words into your life, you are like a smart carpenter who built his house on solid rock. Rain poured down, the river flooded, a tornado hit—but nothing moved that house. It was fixed to the rock.”
“But if you just use my words in Bible studies and don’t work them into your life, you are like a stupid carpenter who built his house on the sandy beach. When a storm rolled in and the waves came up, it collapsed like a house of cards.” These are the very words of Jesus in Matthew 7:24 ff, the Message.
In this powerful metaphor, Jesus offers us a picture of two different ways to build one’s life. That’s what we’re doing, you know—we are building our lives every single day by the actions we take, the decisions we make, and the people and values that influence us.
Grow Your Soul
By Stephen W. Smith
In the 4th century AD, Gregory of Nyssa wrote these words, “Sin is the refusal to grow.” Often we think of sin as things we do or acts we commit or omit that get us into trouble in our spiritual life. But I’m so thankful to discover Gregory of Nyssa’s remarkable words: “Sin is the refusal to grow.” It makes a lot of sense to me to believe that to not grow or to choose to not keep growing is a huge mistake.
To stay the same; to remain fixed in our dogmas can be a detriment to our spiritual health and vitality. We were created to grow, not just physically but emotionally and in all things spiritual. All education is the effort to grow our minds and hearts into a fuller understanding of the truth. It may be as simple as this, the truth does not change but our understanding of the truth must change as we grow, mature and age. What is true is this, the spiritual life is a journey—a journey where we awaken time and time again to deeper understanding.
