Contents

Jesus as the Model
by Gary Thomas
(from Seeking the Face of God, Harvest House, 1994, pp.27-28)

… an authentic spirituality leads us to be others-centered? When our questions are simply, "How can I become holy, how can I grow, how can I reach an advanced spiritual state?" we may be doing nothing more than giving approval to an unhealthy, selfish preoccupation. Spiritual advancement is a good aim, but on its own it seems radically unlike the primary focus of Jesus, who told the story of the good Samaritan, who said we should love our neighbor and make disciples of all nations.

This, of course, immediately casts us back into a centuries old argument about the "way of action" versus the "way of contemplation " As Christians set spiritual goals, inner growth (including prayer and the way of contemplation) was often seen as superior to serving others, the way of social action. Thus grew the concept of forsaking the world to go into the desert or establish a monastery.

If we take Jesus as our model, we see that having to choose one or the other creates a false dichotomy. Jesus was active, though not prematurely so. He waited until He was thirty to begin His public ministry. And when He became active, He never lost His spiritual center. He regularly retreated into solitude and prayer.

Jesus life, then, provided-the first clue for my goal---contemplation (prayer, meditation, time alone with God) balanced with public ministry (teaching, healing, ministering to the poor). The two are not set against each other but joined together in a cooperative effort.

Christ's teaching provided the second clue. In that teaching we see an insistence that defines the love of God as including loving and serving others. When Jesus was asked about the greatest commandment, He answered by giving two commandments -- loving God and our neighbor (Matthew 22:36-40) -- as if to say it is improper to describe the entire life of the Christian as an exclusive one-on-one relationship with the Father.

When Jesus wanted Peter to renew his love for Him, He required two statements -- a profession of love for Jesus and a willingness to "tend My sheep" (John 21:16 NKJV).

The only goal I was to adopt, then, had to direct me to be others-centered after it led me to be God-centered. I would have to take into account Christ's pattern of prayer but also include His ministry that followed prayer.