As He nears the conclusion of the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus urges us to actually do the things He has been teaching. Last week, in verses 13 and 14, He told us to enter by the Narrow Gate and to walk on the Narrow Path. This week we’ll see that He is concerned that we pay attention to our steps – that we take actions to ensure that we remain on the Narrow Way. He gives us warnings, and He shows us how we can assess our spiritual health.
Many of us are religious about monitoring our physical health. Look around your house (or on your wrist or in your pocket) and you will find a scale, a blood-pressure cuff, thermometers, devices to check your blood sugar, your oxygen level, and probably a watch or cellphone that keeps track of your steps, your exercise, your heart rate, and your sleep. My device reminds me to “move” and reminds me that it’s time to get ready for bed. Sometimes my health-monitoring devices create stress. For example, I may wake up and think I’ve had a good night’s sleep until I check my Fitbit and discover that my sleep score was only “63.” Then I begin worrying that I’m not getting enough quality sleep.
The question that I want us to consider on Sunday is, “What are you doing to monitor your spiritual health?” Do you have a regular, systematic strategy to monitor it daily? What are the key indicators of spiritual health? Jesus talks about Good Fruit and Bad Fruit as a guide to help us answer these questions.
Jeff Peck
Many of us are religious about monitoring our physical health. Look around your house (or on your wrist or in your pocket) and you will find a scale, a blood-pressure cuff, thermometers, devices to check your blood sugar, your oxygen level, and probably a watch or cellphone that keeps track of your steps, your exercise, your heart rate, and your sleep. My device reminds me to “move” and reminds me that it’s time to get ready for bed. Sometimes my health-monitoring devices create stress. For example, I may wake up and think I’ve had a good night’s sleep until I check my Fitbit and discover that my sleep score was only “63.” Then I begin worrying that I’m not getting enough quality sleep.
The question that I want us to consider on Sunday is, “What are you doing to monitor your spiritual health?” Do you have a regular, systematic strategy to monitor it daily? What are the key indicators of spiritual health? Jesus talks about Good Fruit and Bad Fruit as a guide to help us answer these questions.
Jeff Peck
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