This is HARD!

Several years ago I became intrigued with the spiritual disciplines. Silence, solitude, prayer, study, meditation, service, simplicity, sacrifice, celebration, worship, tithing, confession, journaling, all held a fascination for me. I read (and re-read) Foster's Celebration of Discipline, Dallas Willard, Nouwen, and others. In fact, sometimes it is easier to READ about the disciplines than it is to actually practice them.
So it still disconcerts me to realize that there are periods in my life when the disciplines are hard, unrewarding, and very difficult to maintain. American Christians, including me, struggle with the notion that sometimes we have to persevere in an effort whether we see results or not. This is counter to what our culture tells us. We are told that we can have it all, we have rights, we are the chosen. In reality we are the ones who will not only stand in judgment for our lavish indulgence, but for our lack of discipline as well. We are at the core of us, self-centered.
So what is the problem?
I believe it is two-fold.
1. We don't truly believe the promises of God. We love the benefits of being called believers, but we don't deeply, honestly believe. Scripture tells several stories of what the kingdom is like.
Imagine that our spouse comes home and proudly announces, " pack your clothes, leave everything else. I sold it all to buy a field that I know has a pearl worth more than we can dream of or imagine!"
I want to see this pearl, I want it appraised, furthermore, I want a buyer lined up before we put all our stuff up for sale. How much more? I can imagine a lot. What do we do until all these transactions take place. Never mind, I like my house and clothes and stuff, this pearl idea is just a scam.
Which leads to number 2. What could God possibly offer me that I don't already have. We have a beautiful home, good kids, a decent job, a lovely wife. We eat well and whenever we want. We can buy most of the things we want. Show me this kingdom., and then I will decide.
But here's the catch. Somewhere underneath all this affluence is the creepy little feeling that we are, indeed, missing something, something important. We realize that just a few short months after they plant us in the ground they will be saying, "do you remember the guy that wrote those blogs? what was his name?"
Our significance is bound up in the glory of the kingdom. We exercise the disciplines because those are the habits of kingdom residents. It is not always easy, in fact it is usually difficult, but it is necessary.
Godspeed, my friends. Stay on the path, it will lead us home.
Don