Last week, I listed out a number of different ways that we use the word "discipline". Over the next few posts, we will take a look at spiritual discipline to flesh out what that means, what it might "look" like, and how we can continue to grow in Christian maturity by disciplining ourselves.
Spiritual discipline would be a dedication or commitment to spiritual matters that grow us in relationship with God. Yes, God is the one who originates this relationship, as we would not know God unless He told us about Himself in the Bible. From nature, we can see that there has to be "something" that made everything, but that in itself does not tell us about the nature or characteristics of God.
So God tells us about Himself. As Christians, we believe that He does this through the Bible. The Bible is God's way of telling us about Himself. So, it would stand to reason, if we want to know more about God, or to understand Him more, we would do so by checking out what He tells us about Himself.
This is one big reason why pastors constantly encourage God's people to grow in their discipline of reading the Bible. It's the only place that we learn of God as a loving God, a merciful God, a forgiving God, a God who takes a very intense, personal interest in our lives. The spiritual discipline of reading God's Word is intended to guide us to a deeper relationship with God.
At the same time that we do that, the Bible tells us that God's Spirit does His work on us as we read. God's Spirit is the one who plants, grows, and nurtures faith in the Christian. When we read God's Word, the Spirit continues this work inside of us. So, even as we may engage in the action of reading, God is working to bring us into closer relationship with Him through the Spirit's work.
That's the importance of this spiritual discipline. God draws us to Him, tells us about Himself, and then works in us as we read His Word.
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