Developing a 'Rule of Life'
For anyone that has lived in Sonoma County over the last few years, it’s seemingly been one round of chaos after another. The Tubbs fire of 2017 killed 22 people and destroyed nearly 5% of Sonoma County’s homes in less than 24 hours. And then in 2019, unprecedented wind events caused Sonoma County authorities to evacuate nearly 80% of the county over the span of a week with threat of another mass fire. And yet once again, we now find ourselves in an even more precarious situation amidst a global pandemic due to the novel coronavirus, SARS-CoV-2, which can lead to a very dangerous disease called COVID-19.
Where some may sound the alarmist bells of apocalypse, careful historians would remind us that although this current global pandemic is unprecedented for our current generation, it is not unprecedented in the scope of global history. Viruses have made a nasty habit of decimating global populations for as long as we can trace human history. And while that fact does very little to comfort us — it probably does the opposite, in fact — it does give us the opportunity to learn from those that have gone before us.
Eusebius of Caesarea (263-339 AD) recounts an early story originally reported by Bishop Dionysius of Alexandria regarding the Antonine Plague of 165 to 180 AD — a plague that reportedly killed 5,000 people a day at it’s peak and nearly decimated Western culture. He observed that “though [the plague] terrified the pagans, Christians greeted the epidemic as merely “schooling and testing.” Where most people were discarding their sick into the streets and treating them merely as dirt, Christians were running to serve and eager to allow the Kingdom ethic ascribed by Jesus to be their motivator. You can read more about that story here.
I say all of this as a long introduction to the idea that we have seen all of this before. Death, dying, decay, etc., are not new to humanity and God’s good creation. Though Christ emerged from the grave victorious over sin, death, and evil, it was but an inaugurating event. The remnant effects of the Fall still linger until Christ returns once and for all to establish his Kingly rule over the new heavens and the new earth. Our imperative, then, in this interim period of time, is to partner with him in ushering in both his kingdom and his kingly rule. Everywhere we are, the Spirit ought to be working in and through us to be reversing the effects of the curse.
There has been no greater time to “be” the church than now. In the midst of uncertainty, hurry, and anxiety, we have the unique opportunity to be an un-hurried and un-anxious presence. In an effort to be these kingdom-people, I want to encourage to not waste this moment to really grow in your discipleship. It looks like we’ll be remaining under our ‘Shelter In Place’ orders through April which means that many of us will have access — unprecedented access, in fact — to more free time than we’ve ever had. I realize that for others, especially those with younger children, it may feel like we have even less free time than normal. But we still have a unique opportunity in this season with the loss of social events. So let’s not waste this time with meaningless things. Rather, let’s commit to growing in our love, affections, devotion, and obedience to Jesus.
We talked this past Sunday, March 29, about ‘Staying in the Story.’ And we said that our own individual commitment to growing as disciples was absolutely vital to doing so. We also presented the idea of developing a ‘Rule of Life.’ A ‘Rule of Life’ is simply setting intentional rhythms and patterning our lives around our values, with the goal of becoming more like Christ in a chaotic world. As you read through the ‘Practicing the Way’ resources, you’ll see that the goal is to be with Jesus, become like Jesus, and do what Jesus did. Below you’ll find that and many more resources that should help you in crafting your ‘Rule of Life.’ We pray that doing so will help you as a disciple of Jesus — someone who ‘increasingly submits every area of your life to the empowering presence and lordship of Jesus Christ and then teaches others to do the same.’
‘Rule of Life’ Resources:
‘Skip Resolutions — Make a Rule of Life’ by Jeremy Linneman
‘Rule of Life Workbook’ by Practicing The Way
‘Enneagram Spiritual Formation Plan’ by The Parish Church and Soma Family of Churches (Requires you to know your Enneagram Profile — If you don’t, reach out to us and we can help.)
‘Spiritual Formation’ by Matt Chandler