Godliness

Commissioned painting for Bullmontro6 Farms

GODLINESS? Um…Ew! My very sin-sick flesh despises even the thought of studying out that topic. That sounds hard and it might take work. It expects me to do something, for sure.

We have a women’s ministry called Tea and Testimony, and this is the topic I prepared for us to talk about last Tuesday. The ladies handled it better than I imagined with a good and helpful discussion.

Godliness is “a proper response to the things of God, which produces obedience and righteous living.” (www.gotquestions.org/mystery-of-godliness)

This commissioned painting process, really has little to do with godliness, but I was thinking about the transformation of a big bank canvas, to a sketch, to an under painting, to an adding layers… shows the work involved.

Here are some thoughts on the topic of Godliness-

CRISIS- A missionary that came to our church talked about how thankful he was when a crisis would come into his life. In times of crisis, God demonstrated His love, which cause this man’s faith to grow.

In the book of James it says, “Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness.” 

I look back and see how the things that hurt the worst were the very things that taught me to run to God’s Word for help. The time of cancer, the times my kids were struggling, the times when wolves attacked the church sheep, the times when I felt rejected… stories of terrible crisis have become my testimonies of His faithfulness. Oh, the verses He has given strengthen me and fill my soul with hope! Yes, God uses crisis to work godliness in me.

DILIGENCE- I remembered a sermon I had heard my son preach at his church. He was saying that if we don’t work our spiritual muscles, we will get flabby.

I personally despise exercise, although I don’t mind it if it has purpose. I like weed whacking. I am not much for training the body, but I can relate to training in art. Time and focus and practice.

Spurgeon said, “The Christian life is very much like climbing a hill of ice. You cannot slide up. You have to cut every step with an ice ax. Only with incessant labor in cutting and chipping can you make any progress. If you want to know how to backslide, leave off going forward. Cease going upward and you will go downward of necessity. You can never stand still.”

1st Timothy 4: 7-8 “Train yourself in godliness [work out in the godliness gym], for the training of the body has limited benefit. But godliness is beneficial in every way since it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come.”

If we do not work our muscles, we become weak. The same happens if we neglect consistent, purposeful training in godliness. It won’t happen magically. It will take work.

My husband used to say at the end of his sermons, that “God has given us all we need to live lives that are pleasing to Him.”

“Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord, as His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness…” 2 Peter 1

HIS divine power is where godliness comes from.  We have His salvation through Christ, the indwelling of the Holy Spirit and the Word of God (and solid bible teachers). He has given us the tools/ gym equipment, but we must take the time to go to the godliness gym.

“We are willing to try almost anything except the knowledge of Him. We will trust in the schemes and plans of men instead of the knowledge of Him. We will try knowing ourselves instead of the knowledge of Him.” David Guzzik

Godliness is going to take diligent effort, and I must pray that He will keep reminding me to turn from distractions and do the work of knowing Him.

EMPTYING- I get concerned sometimes, when I realize I am thinking about ME a lot. In fact, it is a clue when I am miserable, that I am back to the default mode of - eyes on me again. Just the time I think I am acting godly, doing good, I am a very model of Christianity, (spiritual pride), I am already backsliding. Growing in faith isn’t for the purpose of being an impressive Christian (“Hey look at how buff I am!” says the body builder). The daily battle is the constant humbling and emptying of self so that HE can use this vessel for the work He has prepared beforehand (Ephesians 2). Training in godliness is for the purpose of really KNOWING GOD and bringing Him the glory.

In His plan, there is a partnership in this sanctification process called the Christian life. Jesus did pay it all for my salvation, He said, “It is finished.” I add nothing to gain that, but now to live it out my days and be changed and set apart, there is His divine power at work and my taking up the cross and following. It is heavy stuff.

Jesus is godliness. Paul wrote to Timothy, "I hope to come to you soon, but I am writing these things to you so that, if I delay, you may know how one ought to behave in the household of God, which is the church of the living God, a pillar and buttress of the truth. Great indeed, we confess, is the mystery of godliness:

He was manifested in the flesh,  

vindicated by the Spirit,         

seen by angels,

proclaimed among the nations,    

believed on in the world,        

taken up in glory.” 1 Timothy 3

Somehow, the word GODLINESS doesn’t seem so icky, so impossible. The godliness of Jesus is now to be reflected in me.  I will train for it my whole life long and I welcome the transformation.