Follow the Yellow Brick Road
by Laurence Windham

Staying focused from point A to point B in the short run is usually not a problem at all. But when those points are spread by the epic journey of the Christian life with all of the trials and temptations that accompany our sanctification we can become lax, indeliberate, and side tracked. Oh, we might be able to articulate our faith, we may attend seminars and read the latest books on the theological subject du jour (three years of French ... it serves me well) but reflecting the passion and desire of our destination is only present in our lives when we desire it above all. Sure, doctrinally, we understand that our election is secure, but God's desire is for us to "conduct ourselves worthy of the gospel." Among other things, this would include our being salt and light in this world as we sojourn to the next. And along with these distinctives…joy. Any careful reading of the letters of the apostle Paul reveal that with all the imperatives of the way Christians are supposed to live they are also expected to enjoy it! The closer Dorothy got to being home the happier she was.

Impassionate hymn singing in church, no devotional time, prayerlessness and public embarrassment of being a child of God are just some of the signs that we are straying off the Straight & Narrow. Perhaps the reason we meander is not that we don't know the way (because we do) but because we have little affection for things holy. The culture woos us with possessions and comforts to the point that we lose the grittiness and edge of a people who are sojourning here. We begin to enjoy ourselves here far too much. We become impassioned with sports, we become virtual friends with characters that only exist in the mind of the script writer and as portrayed by an actor. We become enamored with the idea of fashion and unscrupulously dress as they/we please. We just like it here too much. "Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world, if any man love the world the love of the Father is not in Him." "Set your affections on things above not on things of the earth .. ..... where your treasure is there will your heart be also" Our hearts belong to God but we often resemble lotharios married to one person but seeing another.

The poet John Donne illustrated this problem in his sonnet,

Batter my heart, three-personed God: for You
As yet You knock; breathe, shine, and seek to mend;
That I might rise and stand, o'erthrow me, and bend
Your force, to break, blow, burn, and make me new.
I, like an usurped town, to another due,
Labor to admit You, but oh, to no end
Reason, Your viceroy in me, me should defend,
But is captived, and proves weak and untrue.
Yet dearly I love You, and would be loved fain,
But am betrothed unto Your enemy;
Divorce me, untie, or break that knot again,
Take me to You, imprison me, for I,
Except You enthrall me, never shall be free;
Nor ever chaste, except You ravish me.

Donne is far from satisfied with his Christian life. He implores God to intensify his sanctification experience from knocking, breathing, shining to breaking, blowing, and burning. The reason for the new intensity is for Donne to be made new, to become less affectioned to the world and more to God. The language is strong and violent here. The poet calls out for rescue. Donne realizes that he cannot rule his flesh. He is unable to fight against his humanness. The world has him ... and he likes it too much to escape. But as a believer indwelt by the Holy Spirit, God gives him the grace to see his predicament, to despise his bifurcation of loyalties, to long to be only jeckle and no longer Hyde. And so he cries out for God to imprison him so that he might be free, for the Holy One to assault and abuse him that he might be pure. The prophet, Steve Camp, stated it this way, " ... and it pounds like thunder within my chest, all the anger of my humanness, and though I call you Lord I must confess, I'm a stranger to your holiness."

Wouldn't it be nice if our journey to the city of God was as short as Dorothy's to the Emerald City? In the screen version of the story it only took her what appears to be one day or in television time, around two hours, including commercials. But since most of our arrival times are longer than that of the thief's on the cross, we should take measures to stay focused by guarding our hearts. One way this can be done is to begin replacing the cultural data in our brains with materials representative of the Kingdom of God.

On Tuesday nights at our house a group of us are studying the spiritual disciplines. One of the exercises that we are involved in is memorizing poetry like Donne's, Batter My Heart Three person God, the book of Philippians, complete hymns, and portions of the Westminster and Heidelberg Confessions. This gives us an inward, portable source of truth to meditate on, draw inspiration and comfort from and a constant reminder of who we are and where we are going. There is a spirit of unity present as each person reports on how well they did with their assignments in transcending the world's distractions and allurements.

Hopefully, the church's future holds a revival in matters of the heart. At present, we are going through a Kuyperian wave of knowledge. Many Christians have been expanding their theological intellect for years. There is no shortage of seminars, conferences, books, tapes, and literature for the people of God to become smarter. But what must be added to this intelligence that we are rightly enjoying is religious affection.

Knowledge can make us smart but also allow us to remain superficial. Spiritual disciplines give us heart. They are the fruit of theology enacted in the believer. We not only know the way, we enjoy the journey