Cultivating our
spiritual growth aids us in meeting the challenges of our everyday lives. It
teaches us how to enhance the joy and peace in our lives. We can do this by
practicing what I call the three Rs: reading, reconnecting and reflecting.
During lent we should spend more time reading the Bible, reconnecting with God
through prayer, and reflecting on Christ, as well as our own weaknesses.
Reading the Bible
gives us a foundation from which we can begin. It reminds us what it means to
be a Christian and allows us to understand God through Christ. No matter how
often we read a passage, new insights will be gleaned each time because our own
spiritual development changes as we are confronted by new challenges in life or
as we gain greater understanding. We build upon what we have learned in the
past, allowing us to mature in the faith. As we mature, we ready ourselves for
new insights or a deeper understanding of our faith.
Prayer can be
practiced through reading prayers of the church, praying for our loved ones or
just by talking to God. You can dedicate a specific time of your day or you can
talk to God in your car or while you work. One crucial component to include in
our prayer time is listening. God speaks to us through the Holy Spirit who
dwells within us. When God speaks to us, His messages are filled with love,
wisdom and truth. He teaches us, guides us and comforts us. Listening to God is
crucial in developing our spiritual growth.
Reflecting on
Christ means we contemplate His sacrifice for us and His love for us. We remind
ourselves that He is God who became man to die for us. We remember that He came
into an evil world and lived a perfect life full of love, grace and truth. We
consider His teachings, His miracles, and His suffering for us. We remember all
the blessings He has bestowed upon us and are thankful. But we also reflect on
our own weaknesses. This begins by remembering our sins and repenting. This is
a process we prefer to avoid. However, reflecting on our sins and weaknesses
allows us the opportunity to learn from our mistakes. It provides an occasion
to ask God to guide us in overcoming these frailties. It allows us to learn how
to love God and others more perfectly. After all, Christ gave us only two
commandments: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and
with all your mind. This is the first and greatest
commandment. And the second is like it: Love your
neighbor as yourself. All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two
commandments”
(Matthew 22: 37-40). Our life’s purpose as Christians is to love. We must not
allow ourselves to rationalize our sins or offer excuses when we do not act in
love?
For example, many
of us struggle with anger at one time or another. The Bible teaches us that it
is acceptable to be angry, but we should not sin out of anger. The key issue is
how do we respond when we are angry. There are two reasons for anger, righteous
anger for being treated unjustly or anger motivated by pride. We can be angry
when someone has treated us unjustly or has sinned against us. This can be
considered righteous anger, but we should reflect on whether we have caused the
behavior because of our own sin. In other words, we have no right to be angry
at someone who might have reacted to our own hurtful words or actions. We may
also become angry toward someone who has insulted us and therefore wounded our
pride. In these cases, we should always remain humble and practice
self-control.
Once upon a time, there
was a peaceful driver, who found himself in traffic on the 405 freeway. As Mr.
Peaceful was motoring along, an impatient driver swerved in front of him and nearly
caused a collision. Mr. Peaceful became angry, especially since he had to slam
on his brakes to avoid an accident. However, he realized that he was safe and
decided to pray for Ms. Impatient, who may yet cause a collision and hurt herself
or someone else. Mr. Peaceful continued driving along calmly, safe and sound.
However, Ms. Impatient was soon cut-off by a more aggressive motorist. She
became so angry. She was not going to be outdone. Ms. Impatient decided to
teach that motorist a lesson, so she sped up and swerved around Mr. Aggressive
and purposely came so close, she nearly collided with his little sports car. Mr.
Aggressive had to slam on his brakes, causing the car behind him to crash right
into him. Fortunately, God saw what was happening and sent His angels to
prevent anyone from dying, but Mr. Aggressive suffered various injuries,
including broken ribs and was rushed to the hospital. Mr. Aggressive should not
be too angry because his actions caused Ms. Impatient to become angry, but Ms.
Impatient allowed her anger to cause an accident. She saw what happened in her
rearview mirror and felt bad for her poor behavior. Mr. Aggressive, on the
other hand, would love to find Ms. Impatient and teach her a lesson. Both Ms.
Impatient and Mr. Aggressive suffered from an inflated sense of pride, which
led them to poor choices, but at least Ms. Impatient recognized her sin and
repented and wished she had stopped to help.
When we
acknowledge our sins, we can grow from the experience. Mr. Peaceful did not
allow another’s actions to affect his peace and joy. He forgave Ms. Impatient
and was therefore able to remain peaceful by keeping his conscience pure. By
reflecting on her actions, Ms. Impatient learned from her mistake and will
probably drive more respectfully in the future. Mr. Aggressive, on the other
hand, will most likely find himself in a similar situation in the future. I pray
that God watches over him and keeps him safe.
Remember
the three Rs during Great Lent. Spend more time reading the Bible, reconnecting
with God through prayer and reflecting on Christ, as well as on your sins and
weaknesses. During this Lenten period, may God perform a great work in all of
our hearts to allow us to grow spiritually, to love more perfectly and to
develop our relationship with Him more intimately.
© 2017 Helen Kamenos
All rights reserved
http://www.helenkamenos.com/
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