Measuring spiritual progress
At LifeServe last night, John Ortberg spoke about developing yourself spiritually. He thinks a lot of Dallas Willard (don’t we all?) and when he was speaking with that great thinker he asked Dallas how he could measure spiritual growth. With no hesitation, Willard replied that he asked himself two questions:
- Am I more or less inclined to become irritable?
- Am I finding it more or less easy to become discouraged?
Pretty simple questions but they really do get at the heart of whether we’ve tapped into the rhythms of grace that Jesus invited us to. Chuck Swindoll had a very similar list:
- Is my pace this year really that different from last year?
- Am I enjoying most of my activities or just enduring them?
- Have I deliberately taken time on several occasions this year for personal restoration?
- Would other people think I am working too may hours/and or living under too much stress?
- How is my sense of humor?
- Is God being glorified by the schedule I keep…or is He getting the leftovers of my energy?
The common theme is that it’s not our trying hard that matters. What matters is our being…our time spent like Mary at the feet of Jesus.
Confession time: I have no moral authority to teach this, because this is something I constantly struggle with. There are so many things to do that it’s really hard for me to calm my mind, still my thoughts, and just be with Jesus. But it’s the biggest contributor to our spiritual growth…and our answers to those first two questions might give us a good idea how we’re doing.
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