Take Responsibility for Your Spirituality
Nobody can have a relationship with Jesus on your behalf.
Here's a key insight that I repeat to myself on a regular basis: I am ultimately responsible for my own relationship with Christ. Nobody else is responsible for my spiritual growth and development—not a pastor or a spouse or a friend. I am personally responsible for this. And if I am not growing spiritually, I will have nobody else to blame but myself.
I write this to encourage you to take your own walk with the Lord Jesus Christ seriously and to take personal responsibility for your own spiritual development. Your spiritual maturity is not something you can assign to another person. Nobody can have a relationship with Jesus on your behalf. Other people can come alongside you to support your spiritual journey. They can pray for you. They can bring encouragement and inspiration. They can show you Bible verses. But here's what they can't do for you: they can't grow spiritually for you. No one in this world can do the growing for you. This kind of work is for you to do alone. And so, you will need to fully participate with the Holy Spirit in the shaping work that He is doing in your life for you to become more like Christ.
I live in a part of the world where it can get bitter cold. At the deepest part of winter, it's not unusual for temperatures to hover past minus 20 degrees Celsius in my region. We're quite accustomed to wearing thick winter gear to survive the freezing temperatures. Imagine that I saw you outside in the middle of the cold winter with just a t-shirt and shorts on? I would think you're nuts for being out there in the freezing cold like that. What if I saw you shivering and languishing in the cold? I would bring you some winter clothes as fast as I could. I would find you a nice thick jacket, a good scarf, a pair of gloves and boots, and a toque for your head. I'd encourage you to put on the winter gear as fast as you could so that you can get warm and not freeze to death. I can help get all these items to you and I can encourage you to wear them. But what I can't do is this: I can't wear these winter clothes for you. If I did, I will be the one who will be feeling warm and not you. Ultimately, you will have to wear the winter clothes for yourself to receive its warm benefits.
It's the same way with your spiritual life. People can support you with prayer, encouragement, and accountability. But other people can't do the praying for you. They can't do the Bible reading for you. They can't do the meditation for you. They can't do the worshiping God for you. These are things that you will have to learn to do for yourself. If not, you will be the one who is missing out on the spiritual benefits when you don't take personal responsibility for your own spiritual development.
Barnabas the Monastic
Servant of Christ. Husband. Dad. Modern Monastic. I have a wild ambition in life: get as close to the Lord Jesus Christ as I can while on earth. I explore and integrate ancient Christian monk wisdom in modern everyday life. Lives in Canada.
