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From the desk of…
by Eda Hokom, Major –
We are an army of activity, of Doing—of touching the lives of others. We are constantly busy with good works, with community and congregational involvement, with changing the world.
But we are also an army that believes in holiness. One of the principles of holiness is living a Christ-like life, and to Christ, perhaps the Being was even more important than the doing.
Major Ivy Hood recently shared the following quote, reminding me again of the importance of BEING:
“The doctrine of instant satisfaction is a primary spiritual problem. The desperate need today is not for a greater number of intelligent people or gifted people, but for deeper people”(Richard Foster).
We only become deeper people as we become more intimate with God as emphasized in Philippians 3:10, Amplified Bible:
“For my determined purpose is that I may know Him—that I may progressively become more deeply and intimately acquainted with Him, perceiving and recognizing and understanding the wonders of His Person more strongly and more clearly…and that I may so share His suffering as to be continually transformed in spirit into His likeness.”
Can the importance of being be stated any more clearly?
It is vital that we are a Being army as well as a Doing one, and that we continually embrace intimacy with God, who created us each individually to be.
Gordon MacDonald also reminds us of an important principle related to church expansion. He states: “Soul cultivation goes before institution building. How do you grow large, healthy, and authentic churches without growing the soul of a leader?” He then shares this story of William Booth:
In his twenties, William wrote a letter to his wife, describing his feelings of discouragement and ineffectiveness, saying he was close to quitting. Catherine, a remarkable woman, wrote back:
“I know how possible it is to preach and pray and sing, and even shout, while the heart is not right with God. I know how popularity and prosperity have a tendency to elate and exalt self, if the heart is not humble before God. I know how Satan takes advantage of these things to work out the destruction (if possible) of one whom the Lord uses, to pull down strongholds of his kingdom, and all these considerations make me tremble, and weep, and pray for you, my dearest love, that you may be able to overcome all his devices, and having done all to stand, not in your own strength but in humble dependence on Him who worked all in all.”
MacDonald goes on to say, “As far as I can tell, Catherine was 23 when she wrote these words. But she was not too young to “get it.” William’s spiritual core, she understood, was the key to everything—HIS BEING.
As we are enrolling new soldiers and cultivating leaders, let us also be intentional in our “growing souls, ”in our emphasis on “being”.
To be like Jesus, this hope possesses me, In every thought and deed, this is my aim my creed.
How is your “being” today?