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So you must remain faithful to what you have been taught from the beginning. If you do, you will remain in fellowship with the Son and with the Father. 1 John 2:24 NLT
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Once I’ve determined my heart’s desire, then walking that out in everyday experience is the challenge. When I first voiced my vocation to live as a contemplative, I was surprised by the way in which well-meaning peers, themselves Christian leaders, immediately saw within my vocation the seeds of a possible movement. They spoke enthusiastically about how I might pioneer a way of discipleship that would influence the Church, then the nation and even the world. A seed sown, barely rooted in my life and experience, was already being offered as a harvest. I retreated into my Oratory, kept my head down and wrestled with God’s vocation. Clarity came slowly as did my obedience to that vocation.
Remaining faithful is not just about maintaining the tenets of the faith. Anyone of us can say the Apostles’ Creed for example and affirm our belief. Yet, living out that belief is not so easy. If I subcontract my discipleship to some external authority, I can only lose my way in finding God for myself and in revealing the reality of God to others. I learned that I was to “Journey towards the heart of God while engaging in mission”, the Oratory strapline. What’s more, the Oratory is not something that is to be reproduced. It contains within it principles of Christian faith and practice that other unique disciples can incarnate where they reside.
Influence has little to do with scale or visibility. Business speaks tirelessly of “scalability”, and this is appropriate where the objective is ever larger amounts of cash. Yet, the kingdom is about storing something altogether different, something that abides in heaven, unlike wealth. My responsibility is to draw closer to God each day.
QUESTION
What does faithfulness to the life God has called you to, look like?
PRAYER
Thanks be to you, my Lord Jesus Christ, for all the benefits you’ve given me, for all the pains and insults you’ve borne for me. O most merciful redeemer, friend and brother, may I know you more clearly, love you more dearly, and follow you more nearly, day by day.
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