Tuesday, November 6, 2007

A Martial Artist Looks at Ephesians 3:14-21, Part 2

Ephesians 3:17a
And I pray that Christ will be more and more at home in your hearts as you trust in Him.

Karate is made up of lots of repetition. We punch over and over, kick up and down the length of the gym, do kata time and time again. We do this so that the actions will become automatic. It is like learning to drive, at first you have to think about everything: the steering wheel, gas and brake pedals, directions and destination, the traffic and road. It can be overwhelming! But the more you drive, the easier it gets. Many of those actions become automatic. When you want to speed up, your foot automatically presses on the gas pedal without conscious thought. This is what we want for karate as well. When someone attacks you, you do not have time to think about how to react or what to do. The reaction must be instantaneous and without thought. That is why we practice these things over and over.

Our spiritual life is the same. As we “practice” the spiritual life by studying scripture and praying, we learn to trust God more and more. The more we study and pray and experience God, the more we do it automatically without thinking. When the attacks and hard things in life come, we want to be able to automatically trust God, instantaneously and without thought. But this will not happen without putting time into practicing the Christian life. How much time are you spending practicing your spiritual life?

Rebecca A Givens

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