There is far more at stake here than religion. If you had any idea what this Scripture meant — “I prefer a flexible heart to an inflexible ritual” — you wouldn’t be nitpicking like this. The Son of Man is no lackey to the Sabbath; he’s in charge.
MATTHEW 12:6 – 7 MSG
While it’s easy to stand in front of a mirror and see the obvious ways our skin and bodies are aging, it’s much more difficult to recognize when we are getting older, duller, and just plain worn out spiritually. One indication that we are not pressing on and serving the Lord at full throttle is when we start to stiffen and refuse to continue to stretch so that we can keep enlarging our personal capacity. We settle at our current level and no longer lean into the challenge and discomfort of stretching.
I’m constantly amazed at the contortions our girls can accomplish with their little bodies. They are incredibly malleable as they sink into the splits and then strike poses with their legs behind their heads. And then they ask Mummy and Daddy if we want to try! While I consider myself to be in pretty good physical shape, I would never dream of getting on the floor with them to attempt some of their pretzel postures. Although my body may not be quite as flexible as it was when I was a child, I endeavor to keep my inner self extremely flexible through regular spiritual stretching. We have to keep stretching and expanding on the inside; otherwise God will never be able to use us to do bigger and better things.
For those of us who have had babies, think labor! Just when you think you have nothing left to stretch, the Holy Spirit serves as our midwife and whispers, “Just a little longer, and just a bit more.”
If we allow ourselves to get too comfortable and stiff, never wanting to stretch into new levels of life, we will hinder so much of what God has planned for us. He has great exploits for us to accomplish, but it’s up to us to keep growing, changing, and enlarging if we want to see these plans come to pass.
In what areas of your spiritual being do you feel God stretching you?