EXERCISE IN DEVOTION

What does the Christian do to live out his faith in Christ and express his love for God? It is important to reflect on this, because the rush of life can transform us into mere religious automata. We run the risk of thinking that spiritual life comes down to just attending Sunday services. The "work-study-family-leisure-church" routine can unconsciously generate the idea that the spiritual aspect is just another item on our weekly agenda.

Paul, writing to Timothy, gave guidance that reveals that the Christian life is far more interesting than the monotony of dead religiosity. For this reason he recommended to his "true son in the faith" (1 Timothy. 1: 2) that he "exercise himself in piety" (1 Timothy 4: 7). This word "piety" is an emphasis in this Pauline text, for it appears in it eight times. It is synonymous with "devotion," a life, much more than going to church on Sundays, guided by the practice of the spiritual disciplines of reflection in the Word, fasting, prayer, and communion with the brothers of faith.

Such devotional practices should not, however, be regarded as an end in themselves. To do so would only make us prisoners and lead us to the mistake of confusing them with worship. These practices constitute, in essence, the spiritual life. They are only means that bring us closer to God and lead us to true devotion: a life of communion and relationship with the Father.

Christians who manage to organize their daily lives, contemplating in their life the practice of these spiritual exercises discover how liberating they are. The life of devotion creates in the followers of Christ the awareness that they do not live for themselves but for God. Far from being an annoyance or alienation from the world, piety mysteriously brings peace to the heart of man and strengthens his spirit to face the daily struggle of life.

The apostle Paul wrote to Timothy: "Beyond all question, the mystery from which true godliness springs is great: He appeared in the flesh, was vindicated by the Spirit, was seen by angels, was preached among the nations, was believed on in the world, was taken up in glory”(1Timothy3.16). That is, the object of Christian devotion is not anything, but it is God himself who incarnated himself,in the person of the Son who was slain but has risen and is now in the glory at God’s right side.. In this way, Christian devotion frees us from being like the religious with their useless efforts, for it draws us closer and ties us to the Creator Himself.

Antônio Maia – M.Div.

Copyright