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Life - Blogging Dallas Willard

Dallas Willard defines life something like this: the ability to interact with, respond to, and affect its surroundings. His somewhat surprising example is that of a cabbage. He observes that the cabbage interacts and responds to the soil, water, sunlight, etc., and grows. A dead cabbage he observes doesn’t do any of that. Similarly, human life is defined by those characteristics as well. When humans interact with, respond to, and affect their environment, we can say they are alive. When we lose those abilities, we are dead. Higher forms of life, especially humans have other abilities in addition to the basic ones of a cabbage. We can think, discern, trade off options, and have the ability to set our will in a direction over our entire lives – including our spiritual lives.

What are those things that nurture our spiritual lives like soil, water, and sunlight do for the cabbage? Through history there have been a number of ideas, extending from personal isolation in desolate places to well, not much. Some folks will tell us that it is all up to God to make the change happen that he wants to happen. Both of these extremes are lacking, it seems. As Paul tells us in Colossians, severe asceticism as a prerequisite to being a complete disciple is wrong but, we are also urged to "work out our own salvation” and to “...make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, and virtue with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with steadfastness, and steadfastness with godliness, and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love. For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they keep you from being ineffective or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ." This effort Peter tells us, so that “...if you practice these qualities you will never fall. For in this way there will be richly provided for you an entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.” And what is included in that entrance to the kingdom but nothing less than that you “...may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped from the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desire.”

We see then that we aren’t to replace the preeminent Christ with base human effort, thinking that the effort itself is meritorious, but we also aren’t expected to be passive, waiting on God to do His thing. What tools might we use to shape our lives so that we will never fall? Clearly the first is communion with God in formal prayer or by cultivating a constant awareness of and interaction with God as we go through our days. These prayers can run the gamut from praise, to petition, to intercession, to confession. We might ask for humility or patience, steadfastness or faithfulness, love to extend or
graciousness to accept. An interesting little book is Brother Lawrence's Practicing the Presence of God, or any number of other books on prayer in the life of a disciple. The key here is to learn to pray not for our own selfish wants, but to be transformed so that we reflect the fruit of the Spirit, and for the blessing and benefit of others, especially those we tend to overlook or avoid.

Let’s practice. Take a breath and let go of today’s thoughts. Now, bring to mind two people – one who needs your blessing or intercession and with whom you have no particular quarrel; and one who you’d rather not be with right now. Now beginning with the first, pray your intercession or blessing on them. Then, without hesitating, move directly into your blessing and intercession for the second. Don’t rush this – think about the person, their lives, their cares, their needs. And think about your attitude and behavior toward them – what needs to change in you? Pray this prayer three times this week. Then, write down someplace – maybe in your phone, and set a reminder for four times each day, to say a simple prayer of presence and assurance that you can pray audibly or silently to God. This need not be long – a couple sentences at the most. Something like: “Father, thank you for being with me today; watch over me and help me to live in your presence today.” Or, something more fitting for you.

Give this a shot this week and let’s see how our lives may change as a result.

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