Do you ever practice living a Christian life of faith? Huh? Practice? What’s to practice? Doesn’t the Holy Spirit just kind of come in and take over? Why do I need to practice anything? I’m too busy practicing for my career to worry about this kind of thing!
Here’s the thing about those questions. Many of us do practice for our career. Whether it’s learning, training, advancing, or whatever, most people at least want to get better at their job. And that takes practice. Practice that most of us are willing to make time for.
So then, why do we consider living a Christian life of faith to be not worthy of “practice”?
Summary
Discusses the concept of practicing living a Christian life of faith, drawing parallels between the dedication required for professional success and spiritual growth.
Practice in Faith: The page questions why many people prioritize career practice over spiritual practice, suggesting that living a Christian life of faith also requires regular practice and dedication.
Baseball Analogy: It uses the analogy of a baseball player’s practice to illustrate the importance of consistent effort in faith, implying that just as athletes practice to improve, Christians should also practice their faith to grow spiritually.
Scriptural References: The page cites passages from the Bible, including Matthew 22:34-40 and Exodus 20:1-17, to emphasize the commandments of loving God and having no other gods, which are foundational to Christian practice.
Spiritual Preparedness: It stresses the importance of being spiritually prepared for life’s challenges, drawing from Dallas Willard’s teachings on the art of living and the necessity of preparing oneself in all aspects of being.
Encourages readers to reflect on their commitment to practicing their faith and to consider the role of such practice in their daily lives.
Do baseball players practice?
Do baseball players practice? OK, that probably sounds like a stupid question. Of course, baseball players practice.
If they didn’t, they’d never make it to the pros. Even then, if they stopped practicing, they wouldn’t last long. Generally, they want to win. If long hours of practice and time away from everything else in their life is required, they do it. It’s part of the job.
Check out the swing in the adjacent image. Sure, the batter hit the ball.
But it was straight down to the ground. Chances are it rolls forward a bit, the catcher throws it to first, and the runner’s out.
Yes, it happens even to the best. But then, it happens way more often we the player doesn’t practice. Next thing you know, he’s not a player anymore.
On the other hand, take the next guy.
This one practices a lot.
Nice swing. Good contact. A hit. Most likely, he’s on base.
Most likely, he also plays a lot longer than the one above who didn’t practice.
He makes more money. Becomes more famous.
People know who he is.
He got here by long hours of practice. Hours that very likely started when he was a little kid.
He had his dream and would do whatever it took to accomplish it.
Is God more important than baseball?
Is God more important than baseball? Is that too hard of a question for you? If it is, that fact alone says something. And if you’re Christian, what it says isn’t good.
What does this baseball example tell us about God?
What does this baseball example tell us about God? Sorry for the misleading question. It doesn’t tell us so much about God as it tells us about ourselves. It asks us if we care as much about God as we care about baseball. Or Football. Hockey. Or anything else that takes up significant time in our lives.
Check out the excerpt below from The Spirit of the Disciplines: Understanding How God Changes Lives.
What we find here is true of any human endeavor capable of giving significance to our lives. We are touching upon a general principle of human life. It’s true for the public speaker or the musician, the teacher or the surgeon. A successful performance at a moment of crisis rests largely and essentially upon the depths of a self wisely and rigorously prepared in the totality of its being—mind and body. 1Dallas Willard
Notice especially this part: A successful performance at a moment of crisis rests largely and essentially upon the depths of a self wisely and rigorously prepared in the totality of its being—mind and body.
Now, with that in mind, think about these two things Jesus told us:
Love the Lord with all your …
The Greatest Commandment – Matthew
22:34-40 pp — Mk 12:28-31
Mt 22:34 Hearing that Jesus had silenced the Sadducees, the Pharisees got together. 35 One of them, an expert in the law, tested him with this question: 36 “Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?”
Mt 22:37 Jesus replied: “ ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ 38 This is the first and greatest commandment. 39 And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ 40 All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”
No God before me
Jesus refers to:
The Ten Commandments – Exodus
20:1-17 pp — Dt 5:6-21
Ex 20:1 And God spoke all these words:
Ex 20:2 “I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.
Ex 20:3 “You shall have no other gods before me.
Ex 20:4 “You shall not make for yourself an idol in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. 5 You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, 6 but showing love to a thousand generations of those who love me and keep my commandments.
Ex 20:7 “You shall not misuse the name of the LORD your God, for the LORD will not hold anyone guiltless who misuses his name.
Ex 20:8 “Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. 9 Six days you shall labor and do all your work, 10 but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the LORD your God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your manservant or maidservant, nor your animals, nor the alien within your gates. 11 For in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but he rested on the seventh day. Therefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.
Ex 20:12 “Honor your father and your mother, so that you may live long in the land the LORD your God is giving you.
Ex 20:13 “You shall not murder.
Ex 20:14 “You shall not commit adultery.
Ex 20:15 “You shall not steal.
Ex 20:16 “You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor.
Ex 20:17 “You shall not covet your neighbor’s house. You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or his manservant or maidservant, his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor.”
Ex 20:18 When the people saw the thunder and lightning and heard the trumpet and saw the mountain in smoke, they trembled with fear. They stayed at a distance 19 and said to Moses, “Speak to us yourself and we will listen. But do not have God speak to us or we will die.”
Ex 20:20 Moses said to the people, “Do not be afraid. God has come to test you, so that the fear of God will be with you to keep you from sinning.”
Ex 20:21 The people remained at a distance, while Moses approached the thick darkness where God was.
when He was tempted by Satan:
The Temptation of Jesus – Matthew
4:1-11 pp — Mk 1:12, 13; Lk 4:1-13
Mt 4:1 Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the desert to be tempted by the devil. 2 After fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. 3 The tempter came to him and said, “If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread.”
Mt 4:4 Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’’”
Mt 4:5 Then the devil took him to the holy city and had him stand on the highest point of the temple. 6 “If you are the Son of God,” he said, “throw yourself down. For it is written:
“ ‘He will command his angels concerning you,
and they will lift you up in their hands,
so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.’’”
Mt 4:7 Jesus answered him, “It is also written: ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’’”
Mt 4:8 Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor. 9 “All this I will give you,” he said, “if you will bow down and worship me.”
Mt 4:10 Jesus said to him, “Away from me, Satan! For it is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only.’’”
Mt 4:11 Then the devil left him, and angels came and attended him.
Where is God in your life?
So let’s take the relevant portions of each of the segments we just looked at and put them all together.
- A successful performance at a moment of crisis rests largely and essentially upon the depths of a self wisely and rigorously prepared in the totality of its being—mind and body.
- ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’
- Ex 20:3 “You shall have no other gods before me.
- “Away from me, Satan! For it is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only.’’”
What do we have? We have a reminder that, as Christians, God should be number one in our lives. Given that we do for other portions of our lives, such as being good at what we do for a living, we should be putting in that much more effort for God. He is the One we should be worshiping and serving.
However, as Dallas Willard points out, are we doing that? Are we even capable of doing it? Not that we physically or spiritually cannot do it. Rather, have we put ourselves in a position where we’re prepared to be able to do it? Do we “practice” like the baseball player? Or do we just assume we’ll be ready when the time comes?
Here’s what I mean:
And what is true of specific activities is, of course, also true of life as a whole. As Plato long ago saw, there is an art of living, and the living is excellent only when the self is prepared in all the depths and dimensions of its being.
Further, this is not a truth to be set aside when we come to our relationship with God. We are saved by grace, of course, and by it alone, and not because we deserve it. That is the basis of God’s acceptance of us. But grace does not mean that sufficient strength and insight will be automatically “infused” into our being in the moment of need. Abundant evidence for this claim is available precisely in the experience of any Christian. We only have to look at the facts. A baseball player who expects to excel in the game without adequate exercise of his body is no more ridiculous than the Christian who hopes to be able to act in the manner of Christ when put to the test without the appropriate exercise in godly living. 2Dallas Willard
We do many things to prepare ourselves for life. Whether it be work or play, most of us don’t just go from thing to thing to thing, prepared for none of them. We like to know what we’re getting into. We don’t like to fail. So we prepare. We practice.
So then why is it that so often, we go to church on Sunday, and then just wait for the next Sunday? How do we prepare?
Or do we think Sunday is the preparing part? But then, if that’s the case, what are we preparing for? And is a couple hours once a week – or less, sometimes far less – enough of preparing for our Christian life of faith?
Seriously. What do we think we can do with that little preparation?
Do we practice living a Christian life of faith as we go through our “normal” daily activities?
Do we practice living a Christian life of faith as we go through our “normal” daily activities? We’ve already looked at baseball. Whether it’s for work, for play in a local league, or just getting together with some friends, we all like to win. and if we don’t practice somehow, sometime, we’re gonna lose!
God and me - this life and the next 
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