“Discipline is important for my spiritual life. In fact, it is the path by which the good news of Christ gives meaningful shape to all the days of my life.” –Barbara Hughes, Disciplines of a Godly Woman

That sentence must have been added since I first read Disciplines of a Godly Woman. I don’t recall reading it before today. The phrase “meaningful shape” leapt off the page, and has provided several questions for me to ask myself.

Is my life shaped by the gospel?

What is the shape of my life?

Is it meaningful?

Rick Warren has made millions helping people define their s.h.a.p.e. Sadly, he leads many astray, for he encourages men and women to focus on themselves rather than God and His gospel. I have lived life shaped by my own desires and abilities and I did not reflect the glory of God. But, I digress.

Is my life simply round, or square? A many-sided polygon? Or, say it ain’t so, a shapeless amoeba? Is it two- or three-dimensional? Is it soft? Hard? Quite pointy in parts? Then, I remembered something John Piper explains in God is the Gospel. In this work, he describes the gospel as a multi-faceted diamond. He explains that the gospel, like a diamond, has many facets that make it beautiful, such as the promise of the Spirit, the promise of salvation for all who believe, justification, sanctification, glorification, and on and on. However, if we focus on just one aspect of the gospel diamond, then we are in danger of missing the beauty of the whole, namely God himself. A life shaped by and in conformity to the gospel diamond would be attractive and meaningful. Furthermore, that life would reflect the light and beauty of God.

Only God, in his great grace, can do the carving and shaping of the life I am describing. There is no need to stress about it, for he promises to finish the work he begins (Philippians 1:6). At the same time, Paul encourages me to “train yourself to be godly” (1 Timothy 4:7). Why? Because godliness has value for all things.

It just so happens that I enjoy running. Mrs. Hughes uses Hebrews 12:1 to encourage me to ponder the sin in my life that is impeding godliness and lay it aside so that I can train well. Many years ago, that question was easy to answer. My sins were very much on display and enumerating them didn’t take much thought. Nowadays, my sins are more insidious, not readily discerned, sins residing in the heart and mind, not always acted out, but much harder to fight. Envy and jealousy, self-pity, pride, sloth, gluttony…sins that I have perhaps always struggled against, but they manifest themselves in different ways today. These are some sins that must not only be thrown aside, but submitted to the gospel. I’d like to close with the final words of Chapter 1 from Disciplines of a Godly Woman:

“With the Word of God taking my measure, God has sometimes gently and sometimes brutally chiseled away at my life to make it one of substance. God is still at work on me. With each day that passes I am more aware that the time is short, and there remains so much to be done in me. I open my heart and thoughts to you with the hope that they will help you choose to train arduously in your pursuit of God and godliness and that you will submit to His plan for your life.”