Training with the Disciplines
Week Three | The Purgative Way
We don’t practice the spiritual disciplines to prove we love Jesus or to manufacture our own holiness, but rather to set in motion the total transformation of our souls. If we think our fasting is meriting God’s favor, then we’ve missed the point.
Training with the disciplines is not about earning anything; it’s about exercising the proper effort across the stages. It’s about taking up our cross. It’s about following Jesus in the overall lifestyle he chose for himself.
It’s not about earning God’s love, it’s about expressing it. We don’t practice the disciplines out of duty, but out of devotion.
To be sure, our motives won’t be perfect - they rarely are - but if our principal motivation isn’t rooted in love, then the disciplines will only end up hurting ourselves and others. This is why Richard Foster warns us, “Disciplines are not the answer; they only lead us to the Answer.”
They lead us to Jesus. They put us in a place to receive from him. Practicing them is about receiving his grace. As François Fénelon put it:
“The wind of God is always blowing … but you must hoist your sail.”
Room to Reflect
What motivates me to practice (or avoid) spiritual disciplines – love, fear, guilt, or something else?
In what areas of my life do I desire deeper transformation right now?
How can I “hoist the sail” today – placing myself in a position to receive from God?