balance

Do you live a balanced life?  From Jesus to Dietrich Bonhoeffer, a spiritually formed person is someone whose life is coming into balance.  It is difficult today, in an arrhythmic, 24/7 world, to maintain a healthy balance.  We do not often have daily, weekly, or seasonal routines or rituals that strengthen our relationships, nourish our souls, rest our bodies, and calm our anxious minds.  My spiritual director used to begin our conversations by asking me, “How do you feed you soul?”  It is challenging to strike a balance, to honor all of your relationships; especially the primary relationship with God.   

Balance is about our use of time.  But more than that, it is about our relationships.  As a Christian person, there is always a relational triad or a triangle of relationships that we strive  to keep in perspective, in healthy balance. Jesus is our example. He struck this balance by spending time apart and alone with God the Father; by developing a small or core family group with whom he lived and moved. Known as the twelve, they were not his only disciples, but they were his closest friends. According to Luke’s gospel, Jesus and the twelve men were accompanied by several women; Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Suzanna and some others.  He spent time developing personal relationships with men and women along the way.  Finally, Jesus ‘ primary work of teaching, healing, and feeding people put him in contact with larger groups of people.  Synagogues, villages, and whole communities are affected by Jesus’ work.  He maintained a balance among these three relationships; God, family/friends, and community.  Before key moments or decisions in his ministry, Jesus prayed.  He also seemed to spend equal time between small groups of disciples and large crowds.

As a church, we may think of these three relationships as our IN, UP, and OUT relations.  UP= God; IN= family/friends; OUT=community.  IN and UP without OUT makes an insulated congregation of worshipers with no time for the world.  A lot of larger, program churches focus on these two relationships and ignore getting out.  IN and OUT with no UP makes a nice civic group, like the Kiwanis club.  A lot of congregations became social clubs with occasional service projects, neglecting their relationship with God.  Worship became dull and monotonous. Prayer and bible reading are not encouraged or practiced. Behavior is self-centered, rather than God-centered.  UP and OUT with no IN makes a congregation of active, productive doers.  But there is no time for friendships, community formation, personal care, or ministry of presence.  Worship and service without fellowship makes entry and belonging difficult for newcomers.  These congregations employ worker bees, but may not enjoy time together in small groups for social reasons.  

How balanced is your life?  Are you making time for God, for family/friends, and for others every day?  Every week? 

If you would like help strengthening one relationship area, call or email me. As we seek a balance, we must remember that God is gracious with us. Sustained, perfect balance is not possible.  But we can have fun working on these things together. May the summer be fruitful in your life of faith and in your many relationships.