In these posts I’ve been applying what I’ve learned about physical fitness from CrossFit to the pursuit of spiritual fitness. Specifically, the need to have a clear and functional definition of (spiritual) fitness.
Beyond the specific spiritual domains and accompanying exercises, there could be an even simpler, and more functional description of spiritual fitness: being ready for anything.
The promise of the gospel isn’t that life gets easier for those who follow Christ, but as we become more like Christ we are increasingly prepared to deal with the unforeseen difficulties of life.
What if the goal of church programming was General Life Preparedness? What if our goal as Christ-followers was to train each other to be ready for anything?
I know this doesn’t sound very spiritual or religious. But isn’t that the point? There is more to following Jesus than knowing you’ll go to heaven when you die. We also need help in living a meaningful life before we die. Is it claiming too much to say that following Jesus will get us ready for anything life throws our way–good or bad, holy or evil?
This could also be a key point in our explanation to seekers and skeptics as to why Jesus is worth taking seriously. Why follow Jesus? Why do what he says? Why order your life around his life and teachings? Because following Jesus gets us ready for anything.
Ready for success.
Ready for disappointment.
Ready for trouble.
Ready for opposition.
Ready for temptation.
Ready for grief.
Ready for life.
Ready for death.
Ready for whatever comes after that.
The ultimate test of our spiritual fitness isn’t how many verses we’ve memorized or how often we pray or how much we fast. These are training exercises. The point of the exercises is not the exercises themselves, but to prepare us for the unknown and unknowable moments in life when the quality of our faith is tested. Then and only then, will we be able to gauge our spiritual fitness and just how ready we are for whatever challenges come our way.
I’m not that worried about what I’ll do when a church building starts crumbling around me. I do want to be ready when life comes tumbling down on me. That’s a big reason why I follow Jesus.
Telling Stories, Asking Questions, Learning Lessons