It’s good for our hearts to be strengthened by grace. Hebrews 13:9 NIV
While bodily training is of some value, godliness is of value in every way, as it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come. 1 Tim 4:8 ESV
Dear Father, the health clubs and fitness centers are packed with post-holiday traffic. Yesterday I had to wait twenty minutes before I could even get onto my favorite elliptical machine. Once again, scores of us seem ready to leave the sugar/butter/carbohydrate binge of the past six weeks for the purge of exercise and sweat. This is a good thing, for stewardship of our physical hearts and bodies does have value, and it does bring you glory.
Yet I’ve never been more aware that spiritual formation based on the “binge and purge” cycle simply doesn’t work. Our spiritual hearts needs to be strengthened by the grace of the gospel daily, and all year long. We cannot afford periods of “cruise control,” when we leave the banquet of your love for a buffet of comfort foods, fast foods and junk foods. Just like the physical heart you’ve given us, our spiritual heart muscle will atrophy if we don’t take care of it.
So I thank you for the “means of grace”—the good gifts you’ve freely given us to help us grow in grace and the knowledge of Jesus. Thank you for the Bible—your written Word, through which you reveal yourself and feed us with the riches of the gospel. Thank you for prayer, meditation and corporate worship, by which you meet and fellowship with us. Thank you for the sacraments of baptism and the Lord’s Supper, these tangible expressions of your covenant love and grace.
Father, you won’t love us more or less, based on our use of these good gifts. But we certainly demonstrate and deeper our love for you as we do so. By the convicting work of your Holy Spirit, let us far be more concerned about flabby graceless-hearts than bigger love handles and “muffin tops.” Because you love us, don’t let us get used to being spiritually lazy. May we come to the point where we’d sooner avoid oxygen and water, than the means of grace. Certainly, gospel-sanity is to be preferred over personal vanity, all the time. So very Amen, I pray, in Jesus’ loving name.
