Christian Living

GETTING IN SHAPE

by paul hoffmaster
04/02/18
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I try to go to our local Y at least three times a week to respond to the cries of an out of shape body.  The treadmills, elliptical mechanisms, bikes, free standing and attached weight machines, plus all the other instruments of torture invite me to test their resistance.  Just getting ready to accept “their” invitation is challenge enough.  Changing into correct apparel is a test of physical fortitude.  Finally dressed as an ESPN sports figure, I ascend the 18 steps to the chamber of horrors, ready to show the machines that I am a force with which to be reckoned.  Finding an available treadmill, I attempt to mount the belt to “nowhere” only to stumble and fall. Sweating profusely, I notice that those on the adjoining treadmills are looking down at me with a sense of sorrow, but are flashing a smile of sympathy in knowing that I am at least attempting to get my body under control.  Instead of trying to remount the pathway to an endless finish, I look for the nearest water fountain to hydrate a body which is already fatigued.  I was told that it is imperative to drink plenty of water.  The trainer said that water is essential to not only losing weight, but it also helps tone the body. What we go through to get in shape is nothing short of insanity.  What causes us to create such an abnormal physique in the first place?  I worked long and hard to build what I have now, but to what purpose?  Now I am working even harder to remove what I joyfully created!  This is madness!

 Just as our bodies need hydrating, so does our spirits.  What determines our spiritual activity is the continual drinking from the “rivers of living water.” (John 7:38)  The problem is that our minds have the power to cap the well.  When the things of the world begin to dominate our thoughts and actions, the “river of living water” will face resistance.  Everyday that we neglect our Bible study and prayer time, we are building a “dam” that will hold back the “river.”  When we allow the things of the world to occupy our attention, we substitute other beverages for the “living water,” but tragically those only lead to a further spiritual drought.  Jesus told the Samaritan woman, “Whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst.”  The water will become like a fountain that will carry one through to eternal life. (John 4:14) 

 So many Christians today look spiritually dehydrated.  The Church used to be alive with spiritual energy; people were continually opening their Bibles as well as their ears to the Truth, and being fully hydrated, they would exhibit God’s Word wherever they went.  There are assemblies of Believers that are continually drawing from the “fountain” and are living proof that the Kingdom is alive, but they are becoming the exception rather than the rule.  The Holy Spirit is the pump that keeps the living water flowing through the spiritual center of man. (John 7:38)  What is surprising to me is how many are ignorant of the Holy Spirit’s role in the Believer.  Christians spend so much time centering on Jesus’ earthly ministry that they neglect to understand how the Holy Spirit is involved in their lives.  There is also a reverse to this, in that some give so much attention to the Holy Spirit that the historical Jesus is neglected.  Acts and the Epistles becomes the flagship of the “Dove” centered ministries.  Let me take it one more step; we are so focused on Jesus and the Holy Spirit that we neglect the reality that everything centers on God’s Grace and Love.  I believe that the reason so many denominational churches are drying up is because of spiritual ignorance.  If they do believe in the Holy Spirit, it is a dispensational belief in which the Holy Spirit only worked in the New Testament Church. 

 The Holy Spirit wants to flow like a river within us, but until we recognize our need and are willing to acknowledge our complacency, the drought will continue. For those who are spiritually hydrated, let us reach out not in judgment, but in love, and help those who are having a hard time getting back in shape!