Steph Dunn- Outside Reading #1

The other day I got that feeling you get when you want to start a new book. I made my way over to Barnes and Noble to scout out my options. To my dismay I realized how overpriced this store is so I quickly called by mom for advice. I told her what I was looking for and she told me that she had just the book for me. The next weekend I made my way home to Philadelphia for Easter. I couldn't wait to gaze at the plethora of books my parents had acquired over the years. Dallas Willard's "The Spirit of the Disciplines" caught my eye. My mom had told me it was a good one and I couldn't wait to dig in. From the small dent I have made in it God has really been speaking to me through it. The first chapter has by far been my favorite. Willard talks about the importance of actually understanding what Christ did and why he did it. People these days are so obsessed with "WWJD" bracelets and doing what he would do. What is so frustrating about this is the fact that it is so situational. People act this way very rarely, when we are called to be in a constant state of following him. We can’t just think that when we are in the position to act “Christ like” we will get the insight and the ability in the moment to accomplish how we THINK we should act and completely ignore the need for a character change. There is a great example he uses to explain this. There is a kid who idolizes a baseball player. When he is playing in a game he tries to do everything that player does in a game and buys everything that player has.
The kid is only acting like his idol in the game, he has to make a commitment to be like him in other aspects especially training like any athlete. These abilities aren’t just available to the star baseball player whenever he has a game- he has to be disciplined and prepared for the game. I am so guilty of wanting be like Christ in certain situations, but totally disregard the importance of him in my everyday life. Willard says something that hit me hard, "True Christlikeness comes at the point where it is hard to not respond as he would". After reading this I knew I wanted to be at that point in my relationship with Christ.