Citizens of God’s kingdom embrace God as triune and relational and strive to spend our time in a way that prioritizes relationships and invests in people. We ask the Spirit to empower us to live relational lives, seeking proximity to others. We believe a fitting response to God’s love is to generously give our time to others as an offering. May we waste time on others in the prodigal sense — lavishing and expending extravagantly!
We invite you to read below a spiritual formation article from Publications Editor, Elizabeth Mullins. It was adapted from the Equipper article, Killing Time.
It’s always a good practice to reflect on Jesus’ mission and my participation in it. I believe fellowship is a spiritual discipline, but am I devoted to it? A good formation practice for me is to regularly contemplate whether the way I spend my time prioritizes relationships.
One way I am being conformed to Christ is through relationships. Hanging out with others is how I pursue belonging and connection and build meaningful community. Often the connection that the Spirit intercedes between or among people cannot be planned for and cannot be hurried. Have I made room for availability and spontaneity?
Here are some reflections about cultivating the spiritual discipline of fellowship. May they serve as prompts as you discern with the Spirit.
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- How much unscheduled time do I have? Why? How am I spending it?
- When do I choose comfort, simplicity, solitude? When does that choice contribute to my formation in Christ? Is it ever a hindrance?
- Am I ordering my life around the convenience of privacy and an uninterrupted schedule? Are there ways it has led to isolation?
- How am I drawing a “wider circle” — wider than my family, my home, my preferred friend group? (Jesus widened our image of family — creating a new family, God’s household. Ephesians 2)
- Reflect on the last time you spent time with a toddler or an elder. What do they have to teach me about the way we keep time? Are there ways we can celebrate inefficiency?
- What story is my timekeeping telling? If a stranger observed my bodily rituals, what might they decide that I worship?
- How might the Spirit be inviting me to create just a little more space and margin for killing time with other people?
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