A Spiritual Journey - Essay Example

THE GRADUATE AT GRADUATION Introduction A spiritual journey is when one gets into a natural progression that leads towards a personal relationship with God as they gain understanding of the world, God and themselves. It involves one having a daily personal conversation with God, his maker, through prayers. “…pray without ceasing.” (Stott, 2014). This paper seeks to understand whether at Graduation, as a graduate one shall have embarked on a spiritual journey leading him towards a personal relationship with God within a religious tradition and/or faith community. Further, it will discuss more specifically if the graduate: has learned and embraced the example of Jesus Christ, as His disciple; Will have begun to form his conscience for life, and has learned to make right decisions and accept the consequences of these choices; challenges and strengthens his faith by fully participating in his community; is a self-disciplined, life-long learner in his faith, able to fulfill his mission by responding to the need for God in the daily life through acts of charity and self-giving; is a man who can be considered a true disciple of Christ by his commitment to the services and needs of others and finally, is committed to social justice. Discussion A spiritual journey leading towards a personal relationship with God This as explained in the introduction of this essay is when one gets into a natural progression that leads towards a personal relationship with God as they gain understanding of the world, God and themselves. It involves one having a daily personal conversation with God, his maker, through prayers. This spiritual journey is more of a quest. It therefore means setting out to make a discovery of something. Something… is a discovery of ourselves, who we really are, what life is all about and who this God is. The spiritual life with God makes us able to understand him and us together with the world and as such gives us the strength to deal with adversity. It begins with noticing that everything about our life is going to change. However, amidst this journey are confrontations with challenges which May make our hopes dimmer. The confrontation with fear of the unknown is a great challenge here. This is the hardest of a person’s spiritual journey. Refusal due to denial is great here. Fending off what is uncomfortable is it. It is much akin to the story of Jonas and the whale. It is because it takes quite a long time to discover what the very important thing about our life is. And when we do, it can turn out so difficult for us till we bow out Just like it happened with Jonah. God asks him why he did nothing yet he feels sorry, he responds, “I do indeed!” (Piper, 2014). At this level, it is hard for one to get to that point of perfection however, one feel sorry about it too. The spiritual journey is one hard one that needs more effort, patience, determination and persistence. Learned and embraced the example of Jesus Christ, as His disciple This is about being a true Christian and following Christ as his disciple. A Christian begins like a child. The book of Corinthians talks of the same when it says, “… When I was a child, I spoke like a child; I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child…” (Jordaan, 2014). Therefore being a disciple of Christ entails learning and embracing Him. To learn is one but to do is another. As one grows in Christ to become His disciple, he is still naïve just like a child growing up. And a person who has fully grown and attained the discipleship is seen as an example to those still young. One can grow in Christ, understanding His ways and embracing them. As a true disciple one then becomes an example to the growing ones. However every bit of this has its challenges. Sometimes one acts according to the desires of the flesh and not the spirit. This is what Christ warned us of. We need to act according to the spirit and not the flesh. For we are spiritual being on human journey (Jenkins, 2014). Will have begun to form his conscience for life, and has learned to make right decisions and accept the consequences of these choices Forming a conscience for life is about gaining the understanding of what life is, our roles and recognizing that we have an obligation to meet; which enables us make right and informed decisions knowing an understanding the consequences of our choices (Willard, 2014). This is is a gradual process in the lifetime of a Christian. This is achievable by the time of graduation following the teachings that one gets and subsequent understanding of one’s self and the role they have to play as followers of Christ. As Christians we understand the difference between the good and the bad or rather right and wrong from the Biblical teachings. Challenges and strengthens his faith by fully participating in his community As Christians we have a responsibility; to minister the word and give back to the society through helping the needy. Every Christian that is growing in faith is given a responsibility in the church fitting to their level as juvenile in faith as explained in the book of Timothy (Kong, 2014). The church and fellowship in Christianity enables an individual participate in his community which challenges and strengthens his faith. As at the time for graduation this shall have been achieved. Is a self-disciplined, life-long learner in his faith, able to fulfill his mission by responding to the need for God in the daily life through acts of charity and self-giving. Self discipline is when a person can assert a willpower over there other base desires. It involves exercising self control. While being a lifelong learner in faith is accepting to learn each and every day to improve or strengthen ones faith in his spiritual journey. It also involves an individual improving his knowledge of himself, God and the world each day. Therefore when none learns the way of Christ and becomes his follower he lives in the manner that Christ himself did. He gives back to the society through attending to the sick, helping the needy like feeding the hungry and dedicating themselves to servant hood just like Christ did (Jenkins, 2014). These acts of charity and self giving are slowly developed in a person’s life when they chose to live a Christian life. As at graduation one shall be having these, and is able to give back to the society. Is a man who can be considered a true disciple of Christ by his commitment to the services and needs of others As Christians grow in faith, they learn a lot on how they can relate to this world. As we gain that deep love for our creator, we understand He too loves us and we therefore can share the love with others. Being a true disciple is leaving according to the ways of Christ. Servant leadership which enables us be selfless, extend the love to our neighbors and help those in need (Jenkins, 2014). This is only achievable when one learns of the love that God has for us and the strength of this powerful love that we need to share. Therefore, through our growth in faith, we acquire the behavior that is positive and are able to commit ourselves to service and needs of others. This is achievable by graduation. Is committed to social justice Social justice is all about fairness and equality. By knowing what is right and that which is wrong, one is able to gain this understanding. It is very important for a peaceful coexistence among people. By recognizing that we are all created in God’s image and likeness and that we are all equal before Him. It only follows that we treat one another as equal. This commitment can be gained through understanding God’s love for man and valuing the love that He has given to us and Christ asked us to share the love. Yes, it is achievable. Reference Jenkins, S. (2014). John R. Wooden, Stephen R. Covey and Servant Leadership. International Journal of Sports Science and Coaching, 9(1), 1-24. Jordaan, G. J. (2014). A hypothesis for the composition history of Pauls Second Letter to the Corinthians: original research. In die Skriflig, 48(2), 1-9. Kong, T. (2014). Spirit Filled: How the Holy Spirit Wants to Use You. Lulu. com. Piper, S. (2014). Jonah and the Whale. Lion Childrens Books. Stott, J. (2014). The message of 1 & 2 Thessalonians. InterVarsity Press. Willard, D. (2014). Renovation of the Heart: Putting on the Character of Christ. Tyndale House. Read More