Jesus said, ‘I have come to bring you life, abundant, full life.’ He says that in John Chapter 10, but how much of a reality is that for you and for me?
A recent survey found that one of people’s greatest frustrations was finding a balance in life. This was particularly among working people, but the suggestion was it was common among others too. How hard it is, they suggest to balance all the demands of life; work, family, leisure, maintaining the home, sleep even. It’s possibly even harder for Christians, cos there’s also God, church and voluntary work to add to the equation – sounds like a tall order! But, is that really the right way of thinking about it? A Christian is a disciple, a follower; an apprentice of Jesus. Is he something to add in to our busy lives; is God just one more part of the complex jigsaw of life? Or is he actually the picture itself? Is life about struggling to find a pattern of life which God can fit in to, or is God actually the foundation of life itself? Does God offer to us a big picture, a model or pattern of life which can help us find a holistic, healthy balance so that we honour him: So that we can live the life Jesus intends when he says he comes to bring us life in all its fullness? The answer is yes – the pattern we find in Jesus own life is a pattern which is all about how to balance the different relationships in life. This diagram of a triangle is I hope going to be really helpful for us: It has 3 dimensions – up, in and out In Luke 6: 12-19 we see Jesus going up the mountain to pray to the Father, then calling his disciples to Him, then going down to minister to the crowds that had gathered. So Jesus had the balanced pattern of relationships illustrated in the Triangle:
Up – time with the Father was the underpinning of all He did In – he didn’t live and serve alone. but devoted himself to deep relationships with fellow believers (the disciples) Out – strengthened by the “up” and “in” aspects, he brought love and healing to the wider world
The triangle then reminds us to develop all three relationships in a balanced way
So, we see a balance of life, of relationships which can form the basic pattern for the life of a follower of Jesus. Up – consciously inviting Jesus into our daily activities (not just a “quiet time” detached from the rest of the day, or a church service divorced from the rest of the week)
In – building meaningful relationships with fellow believers with whom we can share our spiritual journeys and support each other in love (And of course, Jesus said that by our love for one another we would be known as His). Building community – something which in fact the world is very hungry for!
Out – developing loving friendships with people in the wider world, serving the world as Jesus did.
Now, the triangle shape on its own isn’t enough for us to develop a whole and healthy life. Here’s another Life shape which we might find helpful…. The semi circle
In the centre is a kind of pendulum and it swings through our lives, through a year, month, week and day between work and rest, between times of growth and times of pruning….. So, there are all sorts of factors involved in living the life God has in mind for us. But it’s crucial that the church needs to help all of us find a way of living whole lives as followers of Jesus and that will include life on our frontlines, it will include work and family and leisure time. It will include times of activity and times of rest….. But the triangle is I think where we need to start.
So how can we begin to live this out in our lives and in our church?In the centre is a kind of pendulum and it swings through our lives, through a year, month, week and day between work and rest, between times of growth and times of pruning….. There are all sorts of factors involved in living the life God has in mind for us. But it’s crucial that the church needs to help all of us find a way of living whole lives as followers of Jesus and that will include life on our frontlines, it will include work and family and leisure time. It will include times of activity and times of rest….. But the triangle is I think where we need to start.
So how can we begin to live this out in our lives and in our church?In the centre is a kind of pendulum and it swings through our lives, through a year, month, week and day between work and rest, between times of growth and times of pruning….. So, there are all sorts of factors involved in living the life God has in mind for us. But it’s crucial that the church needs to help all of us find a way of living whole lives as followers of Jesus and that will include life on our frontlines, it will include work and family and leisure time. It will include times of activity and times of rest….. But the triangle is I think where we need to start.
So how can we begin to live this out in our lives and in our church?
Well, just 3 suggestions to get us going:
1.Gathered worship: Meeting together, as the Bible tells us, is essential to our lives as Christians. Following Jesus can really only be done with others. Developing spiritual disciplines such as regularly gathering together (often on Sundays) ; encouraging each other, offering ourselves to God, learning and receiving from Him and being ready for the week ahead. This can be challenging as there are so many demands on our time but I genuinely believe and the evidence shows that it’s incredibly beneficial for us if we are to grow as people and as Jesus’ followers.
2. In Community: In addition to gathered worship it’s crucial we develop our relationships with one another in other contexts; where we can find support and a chance to learn and grow together. For some this will be in our Home Groups which consist of 6 to 10 people meeting fortnightly during the day time. We recognise that a regular group on an evening is very difficult for many people to fit into lives which are already extremely busy. Something more convenient is needed and comes in the form of our Life Groups. These groups which we’ll launch after Easter this year will consist of 3 or 4 people meeting once a month at a time which is convenient to them all. These groups may be made up of 2 couples or 3 or 4 individuals and may meet over a meal, over coffee or at the pub. All these groups will be resourced by the church with materials and a suggested structure which enables members to think about their lives as followers of Jesus.
3.In our daily lives: We each have Frontlines; places where God has put us to live out the life of a follower of Jesus. This may be at work, in our families, in our neighbourhoods, in our leisure activities and most likely a combination! There are things God calls us together to do as a family of Jesus followers too. Gathering as a whole church family and in small groups is a great support to living balanced lives as Jesus people in the busy, often stressful world we inhabit today.
There’ve been 2 noticeable shifts in emphasis in the church as a whole over the last 10 to 15 years, maybe longer – one has been a popular rediscovery of some of the ancient spiritual practices of Christians through history and the other is a desire to intentionally follow Jesus and to pattern our lives after his life. As a church we’re working to develop all this and more – so that we can be set free to live full lives, lives close to God – lives which are good news in every way for the world around us. So do come along to Be still and look at joining a home group or Life group. These are a great support as we learn to live balanced lives the Jesus Way; Up, In & Out