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Aug
4
Roger Severino

HOW I CHANGED MY APPROACH TO RUNNING (AND LIFE)

by Roger Severino
Photo credit: Joe Hendricks
Roger Severino, Adult Discipleship – Leadership Minister

Several years ago I went running with my friend Matt and afterwards he made a comment. “You have an interesting way of running. You go at a moderate speed when it is flat or downhill [his way of saying I was slow], but you kick it into gear when you face a hill.”
That strategy made sense to me. When the road is flat or downhill, conserve your energy, because you are going to need it when you face that incline.
It’s interesting, as I began to get better —mainly through doing some speed interval training and developing my dormant fast twitch muscles— my approach to running changed. And I probably enjoyed it more. I tried to take advantage of the natural contours and run faster on flat or downhill surfaces, and adjusted my pace and slowed down when going up a hill.
As I reflect on that change in strategy, I think it is also a metaphor for my approach to life over time. Much of my life I have lived with a defensive posture waiting for the other shoe to drop as it inevitably does. I have been a stoic who has been slow to enjoy the smooth paths of life because I needed to be prepared for the next mountain I might face. Call it my coping strategy.
Slowly, I have learned to live a different way. The old way is primarily based on fear. Fear of the future and fear that I won’t have what it takes when the bottom drops. Fear is overcome when I feel secure in God and His love for me. 1 John tells us: “There is no fear in love; instead, perfect love drives out fear, because fear involves punishment. So the one who fears has not reached perfection in love. We love because He first loved us. “ The psalmists were far from taking the stoical approach to life. They trusted God enough to bring their full range of emotions to Him, believing that He was sufficient to be their Rock and Helper in times of crises.
Jesus said He has come to give us abundant life (see John 10:10). So, I am learning to enjoy the smooth roads of frequent blessings that I find in my life. I am allowing my pace to enjoy those natural contours of joy and thanksgiving. And the uphill battles? I am learning to believe that God will be enough when I face the inevitable trials of life.
Meanwhile . . . I’ll keep enjoying the journey.

Jul
28
Roger Severino

Reflections on the Sermon on the Mount for Leaders

TWO QUESTIONS ABOUT TEACHING THE BEATITUDES

Photo credit: Joe Hendricks
Roger Severino, Adult Discipleship – Leadership Minister
by Roger Severino

Last week’s and this week’s JourneyOn Today devotionals relate to meditating on the Sermon on the Mount, beginning with the beatitudes. Here are two questions to consider as you read, apply, and possibly teach the beatitudes to others.

  • Are the beatitudes descriptive or prescriptive? In other words, is Jesus saying we should pursue being poor in spirit, mourning, being gentle, being hungry and thirsty for righteousness, being merciful, being pure in heart, etc.? Or, is Jesus simply describing the people who are characterized by these things as blessed, even though the world does not see them that way? Is Jesus telling us a way to live, or pronouncing an unsuspected blessing on people who are often not seen as blessed? I tend to go with a middle way that includes both. I think there is spiritual benefit in recognizing our poverty in spirit, mourning over our sin and rebellious heart, leading us to hunger and thirst for righteousness, etc. At the same time, I do think that Jesus is turning our world upside-down by highlighting the potential blessings of those who are not “powerful” in our society.
  • Is there a sequence or connection between these various characteristics in the beatitudes? Or, does each characteristic stand alone, or only have a marginal connection to the others? I lean toward there being a potential sequence in the beatitudes, though I don’t want to press it too far. I don’t want to suggest that Jesus was giving a formula – step 1, 2, 3, etc. – and yet there does seem to be a certain flow in the beatitudes in my opinion. Those who recognize their poverty of spirit and need for change will mourn over their unrighteousness, which will cause them to be gentle, and create a hunger and thirst for righteousness. This sequence will naturally lead toward being merciful (as we understand God’s mercy toward us) and desire to be pure in heart (part of hungering and thirsting for righteousness); we seek peace, even in a world that persecutes us for righteousness’ sake. The beatitudes sound nice and palatable, like something you would cross-stitch, and yet, like the rest of the Sermon on the Mount, incredibly challenging to live out – really impossible, apart from God’s enabling.