Was Jesus Spiritual? (3 of 4)

This is the third blog of five on a series about the spiritual disciplines of Jesus.  In the last post we talked about “resisting temptation” and “scriptural study.”   So far we’ve discussed four of the nine spiritual disciplines Dr. Hardin writes about in his book, “The Spirituality of Jesus.  Let’s uncover the next two:

Corporate Worship

I really never noticed how much time Jesus actually spent in the Synagogue. A discipline far beyond my own. Leslie Hardin notes that often His weekly attendance presented “significant ministry opportunities” and helped him “foster the power of the Spirit in His life by connecting with the father” (76). We need to be careful though not to confuse “pure worship” with “misguided traditions” (77). Our worship should be sacred and not tainted with jealousy, showmanship, dishonesty or for the sake of personal gain. Unfortunately we see these very things way too often in modern day worship. Dr. Hardin makes a very somber observation, noting that churches have abandoned scriptural reading from their worship services. He further notes that “Jesus’ experience teaches us that God and his Word are most important and that, while felt needs must be addressed, they must be addressed by the counsel of God, not pop psychology and self-help gimmicks” (79). That’s a mouth full and can come across a bit dogmatic but a very excellent point nonetheless. Leslie Hardin further clarifies that icons, traditions, and styles can be conduits of spirituality but that we should not confuse them with the greater reality they point to and represent. Worship is one of those areas I definitely need to discipline myself in, I find it difficult to become intimate with God in public and private worship. I hope to mode Christ’s disciple in this area to continue growing spiritually.

Submission

This is one disciple that can be very challenging to many for it directly deals with the heart and pricks our pride. In America, the land of the free, we are often encouraged to question the motives of those in positions of authority and even rebel if we feel that our voices are not being heard. Submission is yet another discipline in the life of Christ that I totally took for granted. Leslie Hardin outlines several occasions where Jesus learns to be submissive and obedient. I just always assumed He was because he is the incarnate God. But we can really see some real human instances where he exercises such submission. Dr. Hardin really summarizes Jesus’ discipline of submission, “…put[s] Him in proper relationship with the father and with others around Him, enabling Him to be a pure conduit through which God could bring salvation to Israel and the world” (91). Imagine our role in God’s plan and the impact we can have on people in an act of obedience if we just submitted. On the other hand, rebellion or at least the perception of such, can be a natural offset in our obedience to God’s will as long as it is Kingdom focused and not motivated by our selfish ambitious and/or agenda. Remember, “During His time on earth, Christ Jesus demonstrated a profound submission to his Father worthy of imitation by every believer claiming allegiance to him” (91). His allegiance was to God the father.

I hope these blogs are motiving you to take a closer look at your spiritual disciples as it has me.  Our aim is to life a life that reflects that of Jesus to give God His due glory.

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The Spirituality of Jesus
by Dr. Leslie Hardin

What do we know about Jesus’ spirituality? What disciplines did he follow? These rarely asked but essential questions are answered in The Spirituality of Jesus. Author Leslie T. Hardin points readers to the Gospels and shows that Jesus’ spirituality is seen not in the miracles he preformed but in his everyday activities. In the Gospels, we catch glimpses of his instructive daily routines.

Hardin identifies nine practices, or disciplines, that allowed the Spirit to work in and through Jesus:

• Prayer and solitude
• Care for the oppressed
• Resisting temptation
• Corporate worship
• Scripture study
• Meal sharing
• Simplicity
• Submission to the Father
• Evangelism and proclamation

Hardin looks at how these disciplines opened avenues for the Spirit, and how they can be integrated into the lives of modern Christians.