Tuesday, May 10, 2016
Bro. Lawrence Part III
Brother Lawrence in these four letters tells about his lifestyle which to me seems unattainable. He says that he strives to be consciously with God in all moments of every day, which seems to me to be an unattainable goal. We will always wander in our minds, and if we try and always keep our minds focused on God, we will bring ourselves down in discouragement. We talked in class of the analogy of sitting in a room with someone- even if you and said other person are doing different things, and you're not thinking about being with them, you are still spending time together. We are always sitting in the room with God, and we should be aware of that, and try to think about it, but having it be the sole thought in our minds does not seem right to me. It begs the question to what extent do we keep our minds on God.
Wednesday, April 27, 2016
Bro. Lawrence Part 2
The author in the first paragraph of the Second Conversation says, "That he was pleased when he could take up a straw from the ground for the love of God, seeking Him only, and nothing else, not even his gifts." I wonder what it would be like to try and exercise this practice of doing things purely for God, and not thinking of anything else. To be honest, I think that we rarely seek God in the small and mundane tasks of life (like picking up a straw), and trying to dedicate these practices to God would be a very big change in our lifestyle. On the other hand, I wonder if Brother Lawrence was taking this too far by only trying to think of God, and never anything else. It seems that he was more in the mentality that he always had to consciously pray to God, which is almost impossible for humans. Regardless, it would be an interesting idea with which we could experiment in our lives.
Thursday, April 21, 2016
Bro Lawrence (Part 1)
- In the forward, Tessa Bielecki is going to introduce Lawrence's life and context. As you read, intentionally note at least three specific aspects of Lawrence's life/character/habits that most intrigue or attract you and that you hope you will learn more about as you read the primary text itself. Why do they attract you?
One aspect of Brother Lawrence's life that I found to be particularly intriguing was his story of having a change of mind and heart because of a tree. This was intriguing to me because I can somewhat relate as I often have a heart for nature, so this was something that hit close to home. Another aspect of his life I liked was how he is portrayed as being awkward and clumsy. This made him feel more human to me in a sense because a lot of times spiritual people and leaders can seem kind of mystical, but this makes Lawrence seem more like someone like me. And finally, an aspect I found attractive about Lawrence's life was his trait of knowing his sin, but not being discouraged by them. This takes a lot of spiritual maturity which shows how credible he is as a source.
- Like #1 above, record at least three specific aspects that are most distasteful or unattractive to you - and why they are unattractive.
One aspect of Lawrence's life I found unattractive was his saying not to use human remedies, but rely on God alone. This seems a little overboard to me, because I think that our medicines have been given to us as a resource, and not using them when you are going through pain is like going through pain unnecessarily. Another aspect I found unattractive was that he "marveled at nothing, nothing astonished him, or gave him cause for fear." I'm personally hesitant to go along with this because I think that it is good for us to be astonished, and to marvel, and even to fear as it is natural for us to do all of those things. And finally, one aspect I found distasteful was when he said, "a great delusion is to think that the times of prayer ought to differ from other times." While I do agree with his philosophy that as Christians we live prayer, I think that we should still have unique time to spend with God that is intentional and not the same as the rest of our everyday lives.
- Summarize the section, "The Teresian Spirit" on pp. XXI and following. Be sure to detail this with examples from the text.
The Teresian Spirit is talking mainly about the similarities between Brother Lawrence and Mother Teresa. The author outlines many of these similarities saying, "Both these saints describe prayer as conversation or intercourse with God, and call him friend." They go on to outline even more similarities saying, "'May God deliver us from foolish devotions' wrote mother Teresa. Lawrence spoke similarly of 'trivial devotions.'" She also shows how they both relate to the infinite treasure of the soul, and how they both use their own imagery to describe it.
Monday, April 11, 2016
Evelyn Underhill On Prayer
1.
a. I think the lines for section 1 that are most important are "Prayer... is nothing else but an ascending or getting up of the desire of the heart into God by withdrawing it from earthly thoughts." This is a consolidation of her definition of prayer I think, so it is a helpful thing to keep in mind when reading.
b. I think the lines for section 2 that are most important are "The wholeness, sanity and balance of our existence depend entirely upon the perfection of our adjustment to this double situation." This is her claim about the analogy of the pendulum and shows how it relates personally to our lives.
c. "There are three capacities or faculties which we have under consideration- the thinking faculty, the feeling faculty, and the willing or acting faculty." These three faculties cover all the ways that we react to our environment, so they are key for us to understand.
d. "Prayer should take up and turn towards the spiritual order all the powers of our mental, emotional, and volitional life." This is a very important challenge that Evelyn has shared with us that we all should work towards, so it is another important overarching idea.
e. "first we think, then we feel, then we will." This is an important realization that can hold a light to how we make the decisions in our life.
f. "There are some who believe that when we return to God we ought to leave our brains behind us." While this is a statement that should not be taken too far, it is one that can give us insight into how our mentality should look when approaching God, as our own thinking is soiled in comparison to the mentality of God.
g. "Prayer, then, begins by an intellectual adjustment." This is a small but challenging statement because this calls us to shift our natural way of thinking that we've grown accustomed to, because we need to exclude other distractions from God.
h. "Desire and intention are the most dynamic of our faculties; they do work." This is a very insightful statement into the nature of humanity, as this is a huge motivator in what makes humans have the tenacity they have.
i. "Sometimes we are mentally dull, sometimes we are emotionally flat." This is something that is important to bear in mind because we all have many days when we cannot force ourselves to be emotional or spiritual, and it is important to not beat ourselves up about it.
2. I think that what she means by this is that when we pray, we are experiencing the presence of God- and that experience is not affected by the secular world around us, though it may look like it. Rather, we experience the realm that actually affects the changing world that we see everyday, but it is the realm of "Eternal truth, true Love, and loved Eternity."
3. This excerpt from Evelyn reminds me of our reading of the four levels of love. One of the main themes I see in Evelyn's writing is that of the levels of our consciousness that affect us in our lives. She talks of how first we think, then we feel, then we do, and also of the three capacities in which we can react to our surroundings, and these remind me of the four levels of prayer that we talked about before.
4. The main question I have for Evelyn is in the statement of leaving our brains behind us when we go to prayer. How far should we take that, and strive towards being so far on the road towards God that we leave our brains, because she seems hesitant to agree with this.
a. I think the lines for section 1 that are most important are "Prayer... is nothing else but an ascending or getting up of the desire of the heart into God by withdrawing it from earthly thoughts." This is a consolidation of her definition of prayer I think, so it is a helpful thing to keep in mind when reading.
b. I think the lines for section 2 that are most important are "The wholeness, sanity and balance of our existence depend entirely upon the perfection of our adjustment to this double situation." This is her claim about the analogy of the pendulum and shows how it relates personally to our lives.
c. "There are three capacities or faculties which we have under consideration- the thinking faculty, the feeling faculty, and the willing or acting faculty." These three faculties cover all the ways that we react to our environment, so they are key for us to understand.
d. "Prayer should take up and turn towards the spiritual order all the powers of our mental, emotional, and volitional life." This is a very important challenge that Evelyn has shared with us that we all should work towards, so it is another important overarching idea.
e. "first we think, then we feel, then we will." This is an important realization that can hold a light to how we make the decisions in our life.
f. "There are some who believe that when we return to God we ought to leave our brains behind us." While this is a statement that should not be taken too far, it is one that can give us insight into how our mentality should look when approaching God, as our own thinking is soiled in comparison to the mentality of God.
g. "Prayer, then, begins by an intellectual adjustment." This is a small but challenging statement because this calls us to shift our natural way of thinking that we've grown accustomed to, because we need to exclude other distractions from God.
h. "Desire and intention are the most dynamic of our faculties; they do work." This is a very insightful statement into the nature of humanity, as this is a huge motivator in what makes humans have the tenacity they have.
i. "Sometimes we are mentally dull, sometimes we are emotionally flat." This is something that is important to bear in mind because we all have many days when we cannot force ourselves to be emotional or spiritual, and it is important to not beat ourselves up about it.
2. I think that what she means by this is that when we pray, we are experiencing the presence of God- and that experience is not affected by the secular world around us, though it may look like it. Rather, we experience the realm that actually affects the changing world that we see everyday, but it is the realm of "Eternal truth, true Love, and loved Eternity."
3. This excerpt from Evelyn reminds me of our reading of the four levels of love. One of the main themes I see in Evelyn's writing is that of the levels of our consciousness that affect us in our lives. She talks of how first we think, then we feel, then we do, and also of the three capacities in which we can react to our surroundings, and these remind me of the four levels of prayer that we talked about before.
4. The main question I have for Evelyn is in the statement of leaving our brains behind us when we go to prayer. How far should we take that, and strive towards being so far on the road towards God that we leave our brains, because she seems hesitant to agree with this.
Monday, April 4, 2016
Mr. Buttrick's Private Prayer
1. At the core of Buttrick's definition of prayer, I think we find that he's saying that prayer is a "friendship" with God that is not to be taken loosely. In coming into prayer, we come into a relationship with God that has set guidelines that are to be followed, and different disciplines that we must learn. I think that this definition is very insightful because I think we have become almost lax in our everyday prayer. I see this especially in young kids (myself to this day included) the tendency to say the same prayer that goes something like "Dear Jesus thank your for my family, thank your for my food, thank you for the sun, and help me get good grades. Amen." And while this is not an inherently bad prayer, especially for a young kid, there are certain paths we need to find in our prayer that God wants us to explore to deepen our relationship with him.
2. I think the tension between having "no rules" and having elements that one "may do" exists because prayer is a specific experience that is unique to each person, so we all pray differently and for different things. So we can make our prayers theoretically however we want, just as we might say we can talk to another person however we want. There are however, certain paths that must be traveled in prayer as Buttrick has described, but those give a general outline, and the specific points can be made different for each and every person.
3. The first element of prayer is silent self preparation. This is a time of quiet in which we slow down our brains (something I need to do more often) and prepare our minds to enter into relationship with God. The next step is the act of faith. This is how we accept that whatever we ask for, God will give us through our faith- as long as it is in his will. The next stage is the stage of thanksgiving. This is the time in which we praise God and thank him for all the blessings in our lives. The next step is confession. This is the time in which we admit to God all the ways we have wronged him, which he accepts because he is perfectly understanding. The next step is intercession. This is where we do not focus solely on our own desires and sins, but we ask God for the desires of others around us. The last step is the step of petition. Petitioning is our bringing requests to God, and asking him to accept them, and to repeat the process while still meditating on the will of God.
4. I think that Buttrick's words on confession and contrition are very true, and can be applied easily to our lives. He says, "we have neither inward peace nor inward power until we have offered prayers of penitence." This is something that relates to us all because we have all experienced how sin can totally crumble our spirit and we can't find peace nor the power to overcome it. A great example of this is Edgar Allen Poe's "Telltale Heart" which is an amazing description of how a person can become so completely taken over by sin that it consumes them, and I think that Buttrick is hitting on that in these passages.
2. I think the tension between having "no rules" and having elements that one "may do" exists because prayer is a specific experience that is unique to each person, so we all pray differently and for different things. So we can make our prayers theoretically however we want, just as we might say we can talk to another person however we want. There are however, certain paths that must be traveled in prayer as Buttrick has described, but those give a general outline, and the specific points can be made different for each and every person.
3. The first element of prayer is silent self preparation. This is a time of quiet in which we slow down our brains (something I need to do more often) and prepare our minds to enter into relationship with God. The next step is the act of faith. This is how we accept that whatever we ask for, God will give us through our faith- as long as it is in his will. The next stage is the stage of thanksgiving. This is the time in which we praise God and thank him for all the blessings in our lives. The next step is confession. This is the time in which we admit to God all the ways we have wronged him, which he accepts because he is perfectly understanding. The next step is intercession. This is where we do not focus solely on our own desires and sins, but we ask God for the desires of others around us. The last step is the step of petition. Petitioning is our bringing requests to God, and asking him to accept them, and to repeat the process while still meditating on the will of God.
4. I think that Buttrick's words on confession and contrition are very true, and can be applied easily to our lives. He says, "we have neither inward peace nor inward power until we have offered prayers of penitence." This is something that relates to us all because we have all experienced how sin can totally crumble our spirit and we can't find peace nor the power to overcome it. A great example of this is Edgar Allen Poe's "Telltale Heart" which is an amazing description of how a person can become so completely taken over by sin that it consumes them, and I think that Buttrick is hitting on that in these passages.
Tuesday, March 15, 2016
Celtic Spirituality
1. One characteristic of Celtic Christianity in its being thoroughly biblical- this is seen by their commentaries on scripture. Another characteristic of Celtic Christianity is their general theology. The author says, "General theology refers to the shape of this understanding implicit over a wider range of literary genres..." A final characteristic is their this-worldy spirituality spirituality. This is said to be the case because of the spiritual culture it was brought into.
2. One question I have is when the author mentions the Age of Heroic Materialism. The author does not explain what this is, so my question would be what it means. Another question I have is when the author talks about the general theology of Celtic Spirituality. He says the divine presence and power flows in and through Mary. My question is how this could be possible because Mary is not a deity, so how and why is she the center of power?
3. Magic is incompatible with Celtic Christianity because it is an attempt to bypass God's grace and mercy, and be supernatural for ourselves. The exercise of magic is described as sustaining and creative presence- such as in the rising of the sun, and the wind. This is different than the Christian exercise of power which is calling upon God in our prayers and desires.
2. One question I have is when the author mentions the Age of Heroic Materialism. The author does not explain what this is, so my question would be what it means. Another question I have is when the author talks about the general theology of Celtic Spirituality. He says the divine presence and power flows in and through Mary. My question is how this could be possible because Mary is not a deity, so how and why is she the center of power?
3. Magic is incompatible with Celtic Christianity because it is an attempt to bypass God's grace and mercy, and be supernatural for ourselves. The exercise of magic is described as sustaining and creative presence- such as in the rising of the sun, and the wind. This is different than the Christian exercise of power which is calling upon God in our prayers and desires.
Monday, March 7, 2016
John of the Cross
1. According to John, God sends is through the dark night because he wants our souls to grow deeper, and teach it virtue and keep it from falling into vice. It is the moving from "spiritual milk, to spiritual meat" so to speak. Going through difficult times is what matures us, and makes us more spiritually aware, and that is what I think John is describing.
2. I think that some of the expectations and assumptions of the spiritual life we have are that prayer is going to be a spiritually fruitful time that will make us feel happy and good. When we go through a spiritually fruitful time, we feel great about the world, and that's how we start to look at it, but then we realize later on that that is not how the world is. Another expectation is that the spiritual life will make all of our troubles easier- like we feel when we first came to God. For many people, we feel closer to God when we are first saved, or in danger, and turning to God lifts the burden. Then we think that that is how we will feel for the rest of our journey, which is not what happens.
2. I think that some of the expectations and assumptions of the spiritual life we have are that prayer is going to be a spiritually fruitful time that will make us feel happy and good. When we go through a spiritually fruitful time, we feel great about the world, and that's how we start to look at it, but then we realize later on that that is not how the world is. Another expectation is that the spiritual life will make all of our troubles easier- like we feel when we first came to God. For many people, we feel closer to God when we are first saved, or in danger, and turning to God lifts the burden. Then we think that that is how we will feel for the rest of our journey, which is not what happens.
Sunday, February 28, 2016
Solitude
1. Nouwen describes solitude as creating space between us and our distractions, whether they be external distractions (i.e. TV, radio, jukeboxes) or internal distractions such as our thoughts and daydreams. Solitude is a spiritual discipline that lets us become attuned to the voice of God, so we can hear him when we otherwise wouldn't.
2. Nouwen believes that spiritual life without discipline is impossible because God works actively in our lives in many ways, and when we enter into solitude, we give God a place and Time, which he deserves, so to lead a spiritual life, we must make solitude so as to respect all that God does for us. Nouwen's suggestion for us to cultivate solitude is that we discipline our time of solitude by planning out our time carefully, so that our solitude is not interrupted by other distractions.
3. Nouwen describes the absurd life as coming from the Latin word "surdus" which means "deaf." so absurd is a life of not listening to God. The obedient life comes from the Latin word "audire" which means "listening", so the obedient life is one in which we listen to God's voice.
2. Nouwen believes that spiritual life without discipline is impossible because God works actively in our lives in many ways, and when we enter into solitude, we give God a place and Time, which he deserves, so to lead a spiritual life, we must make solitude so as to respect all that God does for us. Nouwen's suggestion for us to cultivate solitude is that we discipline our time of solitude by planning out our time carefully, so that our solitude is not interrupted by other distractions.
3. Nouwen describes the absurd life as coming from the Latin word "surdus" which means "deaf." so absurd is a life of not listening to God. The obedient life comes from the Latin word "audire" which means "listening", so the obedient life is one in which we listen to God's voice.
Wednesday, February 24, 2016
Thomas Merton on Contemplation
1. I think that Merton believes meditation is something that comes with hardship in prayer and waiting for the time of grace. He describes it also as many times , "a kind of descent into our own nothingness, a recognition of helplessness, frustration, infidelity, confusion, ignorance..." I think that Merton is describing meditation as seeing God and letting him permeate in our attitude.
2. Merton describes obstacles that come up in our spiritual life. These obstacles are resisting God, lack of confidence, and letting our imaginations run wild. He talks bout the help of the spiritual director who can guide us in prayer and sense any wrong- headed efforts. He proposes acceptance and humility as a solution to the problem of a wandering mind.
3. Merton's words on a wandering mind are very helpful to me. I find myself often with a wandering mind, and cannot keep focus when praying. It takes a long time for me to settle down, and actually be able to direct my attention on prayer. My question for Merton would be are we really ever only going to be beginners at the spiritual life. Obviously there are some people that are leading a more mature spiritual life, but are we all still just beginners?
2. Merton describes obstacles that come up in our spiritual life. These obstacles are resisting God, lack of confidence, and letting our imaginations run wild. He talks bout the help of the spiritual director who can guide us in prayer and sense any wrong- headed efforts. He proposes acceptance and humility as a solution to the problem of a wandering mind.
3. Merton's words on a wandering mind are very helpful to me. I find myself often with a wandering mind, and cannot keep focus when praying. It takes a long time for me to settle down, and actually be able to direct my attention on prayer. My question for Merton would be are we really ever only going to be beginners at the spiritual life. Obviously there are some people that are leading a more mature spiritual life, but are we all still just beginners?
Sunday, January 31, 2016
Athanasius
1. According to Athanasius, God's purpose for creating humanity was so that we could know him. Through our being in God's image, we can be made to understand him, and know him.
2. Humanity turned from God by defiling their own souls. They created idols that they loved instead of God. This happened to the effect that we did not know who God was anymore, and we did not know his word.
3. Three ways God makes himself know to us are through nature, through other men, and through the law. I think God has made himself known to me most through nature. I've known that my personality scores show that I am an E.S.F.P. for a while, but I had never really looked at what this showed. E.S.F.P.'s have an acute love for beauty. It can vary between people, but for me I find it in music and nature. I think God has used this affinity of mine to bring me closer to him, because it impacts me more deeply than other things. It's pretty neat.
4. The one way God can restore humanity is through renewing the image of mankind. He has done this by doing away with death and corruption by sending his son to take on our flesh, and to take our sins from us.
2. Humanity turned from God by defiling their own souls. They created idols that they loved instead of God. This happened to the effect that we did not know who God was anymore, and we did not know his word.
3. Three ways God makes himself know to us are through nature, through other men, and through the law. I think God has made himself known to me most through nature. I've known that my personality scores show that I am an E.S.F.P. for a while, but I had never really looked at what this showed. E.S.F.P.'s have an acute love for beauty. It can vary between people, but for me I find it in music and nature. I think God has used this affinity of mine to bring me closer to him, because it impacts me more deeply than other things. It's pretty neat.
4. The one way God can restore humanity is through renewing the image of mankind. He has done this by doing away with death and corruption by sending his son to take on our flesh, and to take our sins from us.
Monday, January 25, 2016
Schmemann Free Response
Schmemann has an underlying theme of food throughout this excerpt that brings a visualization that is easy to relate to for us humans. It is very interesting to see how many themes in the bible have to do with food, and I never made the connection between them. Eating and drinking are vital parts of our lives, and I think that is why many themes in the bible have been personified, or shown through food. We can automatically relate to food, and it connects to us because it has been an integral part of our lives. That is why the term "spiritual food" can make such an impact on us. Because we know how much we need (and love) food, so when we relate that feeling to the spirit, it can impact us more deeply, and give us a more clear image.
Thursday, January 21, 2016
Chesterton
1. I think that here Chesterton is saying that the universe is not monotonous and boring where everything has an explanation as most modern thinkers believe, but on the contrary, the universe is monotonous because God is strong enough to love repetition, while we are too weak, though we think we are mature. He is also saying that life is not something to be taken as granted, but something that we should be thankful for. We should be thankful for everything in life.
2. The fact that God says every day to the sun when it sets and rises, "Do it again," is something very significant in out understanding of science. We believe that when we age we get more mature, however, this shows that when we no longer enjoy monotony, we are not more mature, but it is a sign of our brokenness. It also shows that the sun is not obligated to rise and set on its own, but that God is the driving force behind it, and if he doesn't want the sun to rise, it won't.
3. I understand the statement that God is younger than we, and we have grown old in our sin is completely accurate to our lives. I think we have set artificial standards in our sinfulness of what it means to be mature, but when we are children, and we have no knowledge of these artificial boundaries, we can find joy in monotony just like God does, so in a sense he is younger in his spirit than us.
4. Chesterton's view of the world is a point of view that I have never really thought about. It is so easy to slip into the worldview of our society today and say that there are no supernatural forces, and that everything happens according to its own will. I never thought about the fact that God every day repeats the same functions and never tires of it. If we all trained ourselves to think like Chesterton does, I think we would all be much more grateful for every day, and all the blessings in life.
2. The fact that God says every day to the sun when it sets and rises, "Do it again," is something very significant in out understanding of science. We believe that when we age we get more mature, however, this shows that when we no longer enjoy monotony, we are not more mature, but it is a sign of our brokenness. It also shows that the sun is not obligated to rise and set on its own, but that God is the driving force behind it, and if he doesn't want the sun to rise, it won't.
3. I understand the statement that God is younger than we, and we have grown old in our sin is completely accurate to our lives. I think we have set artificial standards in our sinfulness of what it means to be mature, but when we are children, and we have no knowledge of these artificial boundaries, we can find joy in monotony just like God does, so in a sense he is younger in his spirit than us.
4. Chesterton's view of the world is a point of view that I have never really thought about. It is so easy to slip into the worldview of our society today and say that there are no supernatural forces, and that everything happens according to its own will. I never thought about the fact that God every day repeats the same functions and never tires of it. If we all trained ourselves to think like Chesterton does, I think we would all be much more grateful for every day, and all the blessings in life.
Sunday, January 17, 2016
Incarnation
For Jesus to become incarnate means that he lowered himself from his supernatural essence to human flesh. He became human. I think that this means that God has very strong affection for us (his creation) to let his son enter into our flesh, suffer with us, and take our sins from us. It is a true display of his love. This means that humanity is a race of beings that is very loved by God. He loves us so much that he would send his own offspring to be our savior. The fact that he saves us to begin with is a great extent of love, but that he uses his son shows how much he cares for humanity.
Thursday, January 7, 2016
Tozer Ch. 22 & 23
1. I think that Tozer links God's sovereignty to his freedom to say that He is sovereign because of his freedom. God being free means that he can do anything he pleases at any time, and it will be perfect. That is the embodiment of his sovereignty because to be completely sovereign, he must have complete freedom. We are not sovereign because we are nowhere near completely free, so anything we try and put into action is immediately potentially subject to imperfection.
2. The analogy of the ocean liner is very helpful to me to understand our free will in relation to God's sovereignty. It is almost like there are different levels on which things are happening. To us, our lives seem like all there is (which would be the crew on board), and we are free to go about our lives as we please. However, what we cannot see is that we are aboard God's ship, and we cannot change its course or action, but we can still live our own lives on a smaller level.
3. I agree with Tozer on all of the points that he displayed in this chapter. Many of the ideas he stated are parts of the creeds that we recite at church and in chapel. Many of them are held truths of the church. I think that the most necessary point he makes is that there must be an utter committal of the whole life to Christ in faith. This is one of the biggest steps we must make in our spiritual journey, and I think that this is a condition that is something to be striven after our whole lives. As Jesus commands us, we are to "take up our cross and follow him."
2. The analogy of the ocean liner is very helpful to me to understand our free will in relation to God's sovereignty. It is almost like there are different levels on which things are happening. To us, our lives seem like all there is (which would be the crew on board), and we are free to go about our lives as we please. However, what we cannot see is that we are aboard God's ship, and we cannot change its course or action, but we can still live our own lives on a smaller level.
3. I agree with Tozer on all of the points that he displayed in this chapter. Many of the ideas he stated are parts of the creeds that we recite at church and in chapel. Many of them are held truths of the church. I think that the most necessary point he makes is that there must be an utter committal of the whole life to Christ in faith. This is one of the biggest steps we must make in our spiritual journey, and I think that this is a condition that is something to be striven after our whole lives. As Jesus commands us, we are to "take up our cross and follow him."
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