Practicing Matters

      One Saturday morning, I enjoyed a bowl of nutty whole-grained cereal while solving the newspaper Sudoku puzzle and listening to a NPR Weekend Edition interview with Stuart Davis, musician and writer and comic. Davis mentioned during the interview that he was a Buddhist practitioner. He said, “I have followed that path for 15 years.”

      I wondered why we don’t use language like that about following Jesus. Why don’t I say, “I am a Christian practitioner – I have been following the path of Jesus for 56 years?” I’m comfortable to say, I believe in Jesus; why is it uncomfortable to say, I practice Christianity?

      If I say I’m a practitioner, it implies a couple of things: (1) my practices matter, and (2) I’m still learning. Saying I’m a practitioner puts the emphasis on what I do rather than what I say.

      In a well-known Bible story, Jesus asked Peter, one of his closest friends and disciples, “Do you love me?” When Peter answered, “Yes,” Jesus followed with the specific command, “Feed my sheep.” (John 21:15-17)

      In other words, don’t just say you love me, do something about it. Don’t just love, act. In other words, be a practitioner.

      I live so much of my life inside my own head it’s easy for me to fall into the trap of believing that thinking about stuff has the same value as doing something. But the truth is, my practices matter.

      If I say I love you but don’t put you foremost in my life, I’m wrong … or lying. I cannot say I want to help you if all I do is talk, talk, talk. If my explanations smell more like excuses and justifications, they smell. Jesus said, if you love me, take care of my people, love who I love.

      Being a practitioner of Christianity means I’m still learning. It means I don’t yet know all the answers and I’m still searching for truth, still learning to walk like Jesus, and I hope, growing better and deeper every day.

      One of my core beliefs is that we should grow closer to God every day. Another is that we should be lifelong students. Both of those beg for practice.

      I read this (but unfortunately don’t remember where): “The essence of Christianity is practicing the art of being His obedient children. A medical doctor, psychologist, teacher, professor, artist, and violinist are all considered practitioners of their occupation, vocation, and gift. Christ intends for us to be practitioners in action, service, and heart. The practice of the faith is truly from the heart and motivated by the love of Christ.”

      In Romans 12:1-2, Paul writes: “Take your everyday, ordinary life—your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life—and place it before God as an offering. Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for him. Don't become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You'll be changed from the inside out. Readily recognize what he wants from you, and quickly respond to it. Unlike the culture around you, always dragging you down to its level of immaturity, God brings the best out of you, develops well-formed maturity in you.” (The Message)

      Those are good words. Living God’s way takes a lot of practice.

“I run in the path of Your commands, for You have set my heart free.” Psalm 119:32