This morning I met with a friend and we got to talking about planning. I want to be organized and intentional with what I do. More than that, I want to do everything I do at a very high level. To borrow from my last post, I want to be great at what I do.
At the same time, I want to do what God wants me to do. I desperately want to please Him. Or at least I want to want to please Him, if that makes any sense. I want to love what Jesus loves. I want to see people, things and situations the way He sees them. I want to enjoy the rest (Matthew 11:28) and peace (Philippians 4:7) that is found only in Him. I want to seek His Kingdom and righteousness (Matthew 6:33), trusting completely that my needs and my family’s needs will be met. I want to embrace and live out the reality that there is nothing that compares to Him, while at the same time understanding that He has created this world to be enjoyed. I want for Christ-like behavior to flow out of me naturally, to be my default.
Lately God has been showing me that possessing this type of attitude, lifestyle and behavior are nearly always the result of training for them. When I was little, I took swimming lessons. I vaguely remember lear
ning to blow bubbles in the water when I was about 3-4 years old. Then we would kick while holding the side wall. Then we used kickboards. Finally, after a few years of practicing and developing the necessary coordination, I was able to swim. It was a process. It certainly didn’t happen all at once. Now when I get in the water, I don’t think about any of that stuff. I just swim.
Similarly, I am convinced that developing a Christ-like character is a process. And it’s a process that demands my attention. It certainly doesn’t happen all at once. The ideas of being ‘transformed by the renewing of my mind’ (Romans 12:2), and ‘working out my salvation with fear and trembling’ (Philippians 2:12) both speak to that process. With respect to my journey with Jesus, I very much feel like I’ve been hearing about these ‘swimming lessons’ for years. I’ve heard great things about this idea of ‘swimming’. Now it’s as if He’s finally brought me to a place where I’ve shown up at the pool and have crept into the water. I’m probably blowing little spiritual bubbles right now as I type this.
I want to learn to swim. I want to know Christ and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in His suffering (Philippians 3:10). I want to be wholly His in every way.