For the last nine years, my brother and I have not been able to be in touch or barely speak to each other. Tony is a father to three boys and one girl. Since he was married, I feel he has not been making the right decisions for them. Besides that, being an issue, we also disagreed that I enrolled in the army to get a better life for myself. My sentiments have always been that Tony is waiting for us, his siblings, to take responsibility for his children rather than understanding he has the sole responsibility of raising them alone. I feel judgmental towards him because he should make better decisions for his children as a parent. He believes that since I am in the military, I should support everyone else back at home. On numerous occasions, I have initiated a conversation with him regarding the same, but he keeps saying that I am only capable because I have a lot of money. Often, I want to start an ordinary conversation about how he can better his kids' lives. Still, I have never had the opportunity as, during family meetings, all they speak of is the money I earn for being in the military. I understand that as a family member, it is essential to support when and when one can. However, he should be able to know that he cannot be dependent on me. Since I enrolled in the army, we have spoken several times, and the result has always been the same. It was at that point that I decided to cut all communication with him. This has been a recurrent issue before I was married, and therefore, my family is exposed to it. Recently, however, I have begun deep meditation and recognized that I should resolve the conflict with my brother. Furthermore, that is the only way I will be in tune spiritually and what God requires. I want my brother and I to resolve our differences amicably and this Peacemakers workbook will be my guideline.
According to the Webster Dictionary, delight is something that gives us great pleasure. Shaw and Strobel have a common argument that our highest response to God is a delight i . To a more significant extent, I agree with them. This is because the scripture says in the book of Psalms 37:4, “Take delight in the Lord, and He will give you the desires of your heart.”. This verse implies that if we genuinely find worth and fulfilment in Christ Jesus, He will fulfil the desires of our heart. Further, Shaw reveals that having delight in God is not about fantasies and personal visions, excitement, ecstasy or the shiver that we experience when faced with sorrow or fear, for delight can occur amid fear and despair. On the contrary, delight in God is a rational complacency of God’s soul and His holiness arising from the apprehension of things that are justly delectable to us. That is, in God, our hearts find complete fulfilment. Thus, in everything we do, including the relationships we have with others, God should be our delight because if we cannot please him, we will fail to experience his highest form of delight.
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The overall idea behind the command of that verse is that as Christians, if we truly take delight in God’s eternal things, He will give us the desires of our heart. Overall, our desires will begin to line up with what God expects of us, and we will never go unfulfilled. What do we mean by the desires of our heart? Essentially, one of my resolutions is to depend on God and get my primary pleasure from Him. Automatically, He is the desire of my heart because our eyes are fixated on him. The promise here is that God will make Himself available to us if we delight in Him. Furthermore, we will have everything that we ever desire. In Philippians 4:19, the scripture states that “He supplies all our needs according to His riches in Glory”. Therefore, God has more than enough to ensure our needs are met on the condition that we take delight in him. In his text, Strobel reveals that being in Christ is being at rest with Him and are free to be fully alive. Further, he went ahead and expounded that being fully alive does not imply being too heavenly minded for earthly good. On the contrary, being heavenly minded is being most earthly good because our mind is set in Christ Jesus. Therefore, my other resolution is to live a life like that of Christ.
Learning Discipline from Leaders
The reading about the spiritual disciplines of Bonhoeffer and Edwards has allowed me to critically reflect and meditate deeply about my life and resolve issues. In addition, the reading has enabled me to engage in some of the things I have not done before. These include frequently praying, holding Bible Study, and Confessing when need be. I have realised that most of the things we read significantly impact and influence us. The primary question is whether this influence is negative or positive. Looking at both Edwards and Bonhoeffer, they never at any point compromised their faith and ways to the world ii . If anything, they took delight in the Lord. One of their key influences in my life is that they give me faith in fully being confident in my faith. Looking closely at Bonhoeffer’s teaching, for instance, it is evident that he speaks strongly concerning the religion of Christ. He states that “The religion of Christ is not the tidbit after the bread; it is the bread itself, or it is nothing” iii . That is a statement that I highly relate to. Also, the chapter on prayer is one I resonated with and decided that I will be frequently prayerful. Prayer is so essential in leadership and the life of a Christian in general. There can never be pastoral ministry or Christian life without prayer. (REF). As I continue with my stay at college, I am hoping that my prayer life will become more profound. I intend on achieving the earlier stated goals and draw and grow deep in Christ Jesus.
In conclusion, as a potential future leader whose desire is to grow, there is the need to always delight in God. It is healthy for my prayer and Christian life. I need to make this theme of delighting in the Lord a centre of my life. Furthermore, there will be greater assurance in our salvation if we delight in God and prove that we love and know him. As a Christian leader, I believe that God intends to use me as a vessel for His honour and glory. As my faith continues to strengthen and I continue to be more prayerful, I am self-aware that delight is my most significant advantage. Furthermore, God has placed me where I am for His purpose. Therefore, I will take delight in that and fulfil His purposes and calling over my life.
Reference List
i Shaw, Mark R. 10 Great Ideas from Church History: A Decision-maker's Guide to Shaping Your Church . InterVarsity Press, 2013.
ii Edwards, Jonathan. Jonathan Edwards' Resolutions: And Advice to Young Converts . Ravenio Books, 2015.
iii Werke, Dietrich Bonhoeffer. "Dietrich Bonhoeffer." Kierkegaard's Influence on Theology: German Protestant theology 1 (2012): 43.
