ARSENIUS,
one of the Desert Fathers who lived in the early centuries of
the Church, joined his fellow pilgrims in a serious pursuit of
God and His righteousness. His life was marked with a deep hunger
for God and a determined effort to be totally available to God.
His longing to be Christ-like and to welcome the returning Christ
is described in the following way:
On Saturday evening preparing for the glory of Sunday, Arsenius
would turn his back on the sun and stretch out his hands in prayer
towards heaven till once again the sun shone on his face.
What a remarkable description of the intense pursuit of God! Indeed,
it is a wonderful way of understanding Christian discipleship.
Too many Christians fail to recognise the deep purposes of God
in saving us. They think, in a narrow and limited way, that salvation
is nothing more than God rescuing us from hell. But that is certainly
not the whole story.
To be saved is not only to be spared the punishment in hell due
us, but also to be prepared for heaven. Or to put it the way John
Wesley rightly understood it: salvation is not only being free
from the penalty of sin, but also being free from the power of
sin.
We suffer not only from the guilt of sin, but also from the disease
of sin. This means that after conversion, there is much to be
done. We need to submit ourselves to God so that we can become
victorious over sin and grow into Christ-likeness.
Wesley insisted (e.g. in his classic sermon "Christian Perfection")
that we must make disciplined and determined progress in our Christian
lives, which he saw as having many stages. In all of this, we
are to grow into maturity as we grow in holiness and love. This
would be characterised by increasing freedom from sin and from
sinful thoughts, emotions, and actions. That we should grow into
Christian perfection has become one of the key teachings of Methodism.
Wesley would remind us of the words of our Lord Jesus: "You
therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect."
(Mt. 5:48).
This is to say that while we recognise that we are saved entirely
by grace, and through the finished work of Christ, and by placing
our faith in Him, God also expects us to allow Him to work in
and with us to bring forth holiness. As Paul wrote, "work
out your own salvation with fear and trembling." (Phil. 2:12).
The Christian life is not simply getting on the right bus to heaven
and then going to sleep. It is more like getting to the right
flock, or rather Shepherd, and following the Shepherd all the
way home. It calls for moment by moment awareness of the Shepherd,
faith, and obedience. A living relationship with the Shepherd,
kept fresh each day, is necessary.
To follow Christ in this way of freedom and perfection is not
easy. It often involves intense battle and struggle. It calls
for the single-mindedness of a soldier, the diligence of a farmer,
and the discipline of an athlete (2 Tim. 2:1-7). It involves determined
self-discipline and self-denial (1 Cor. 9:27).
A BOOK that captures this very
well is the Christian classic, The Ladder of Divine Ascent, by
John Climacus who lived in the 2nd half of the sixth century.
John lived an austere life as a monk, and spent 40 years in solitude,
seeking and communing with God.
In the book, he lists 30 steps to Christian perfection. In a picture
reminiscent of the dream that Jacob had, when he saw a ladder
reaching to heaven and God at the top of the ladder, John envisaged
the Christian life as climbing a spiritual ladder. It is not an
easy ladder to climb, for while angels help us along the way,
there are demons who would try to make us fall off the ladder.
In climbing this ladder, we are to combat our sinful selves and
the forces of darkness that work against our souls.
To our modern ears, the 30 steps might sound like another great
spiritual tool, technique, or programme, but it is not meant to
be so. Rather, it helps us to understand what is involved in spiritual
formation and growth into Christ-likeness (and therefore salvation).
John's Ladder begins with Renunciation and ends in Love, akin
to the way Peter describes how faith grows into love in a series
of stages (2 Pet. 1:5-7).
According to John, love is the only true motive. All other passions
are suspect. In the Orthodox tradition, passions are seen with
suspicion. This might be a helpful corrective in our own modern
church where we give so much prominence to religious passion.
But a lack of understanding of the pervasiveness of sin would
result in our embracing of sin hidden in what we consider to be
honourable passions. Thus, ambition, pride, and greed may dress
themselves in nice religious clothes, as they often do in our
churches today.
John's Ladder shows us the danger of the deadly sins and passions,
and instructs us how we can unmask and overcome them. It also
shows us the Christian virtues we must cultivate, and how these
are related to one another, often being built on one another.
Reading The Ladder will make us spiritually more alert and wiser,
and aware of the spiritual battle that must take place within
us to make us holy. Not being aware will leave us in the superficial
shores of immaturity, for indeed Christ is our Ladder to Heaven
(John 1:51).
The Ladder gives such profound spiritual advice that it has been
held in the highest regard in Orthodox Christianity. Every Lent,
it is read aloud in churches and monasteries. It might profit
our souls to do the same this Lent, as we commit ourselves totally
and seriously to the life that God has called us to - as God purges
our souls from sin, and fills them with His holiness and love.
Like good old Arsenius we must learn to turn our backs to all
evil - in our false and sinful selves and our sick and rebellious
world - until the sun shines on our faces, and our faces reflect
the glory of Christ.
QUOTE:
A LIVING RELATIONSHIP
'The Christian life is not simply getting on the right bus to heaven and then going to sleep. It is more like getting to the right flock, or rather shepherd, and following the shepherd all the way home. It calls for moment by moment awareness of the Shepherd, faith, and obedience. A living relationship with the Shepherd, kept fresh each day, is necessary.'