Do you take regular exercise? Are you a member of a gym, or do you own a “fitbit” to electronically monitor your exercise and physical responses to it?
Imagine that you visited your doctor tomorrow, and he/she said that your future health depended upon some strict regime regarding, say, diet, exercises, and various other things; that unless you followed this strictly, you could die at any time. Would you just shrug it off, and carry on precisely as normal? Or would you take the warning very seriously and launch yourself into this new diet and fitness programme? When faced with grave concerns about our physical health, we tend to take things very seriously indeed. Why is it that we are inclined to give our physical health needs so much more importance than our spiritual health needs?
We are currently in Lent, and Christians are called to take part in a special programme to help us become more spiritually healthy. God calls us to make time for real spiritual renewal this Lent, and since our spiritual health is about eternity, it makes sense to take that call seriously.
Many people decide to observe Lent by giving up something that they enjoy; for some it is easier to donate to charity. But being a Christian and nurturing our spiritual health is not always an easy option – we are only human after all – and there are more profound and lasting ways of tending to our spiritual health. However, the rewards are great, and it would be selfish of us to keep these to ourselves!
If you are not already a member of our Christian community, why not come and join us and start a new spiritual development regime? You will be welcomed at any of our churches; just bring yourselves, the desire to open your minds and hearts, and start to develop and nurture your spiritual wellbeing – you will not regret it!
Sharon Pearce –
With thanks to Fr. Richard Northey for allowing me to add to and adapt his words
