Chapter 7. The Teacher's Spiritual Culture
Back to The Devotional Life of the Sunday School Teacher
The word culture is used first of land — the act of tilling and preparing it for fertility. The ground is cultivated in order to make it yield the best harvests. The word is applied also to the act of promoting growth in plants, especially with a view to the improvement of their quality and the production of new varieties. It is wonderful what results are obtained in flowers, for example, by culture.
The word is used also of the improvement of the mind and the refinement of the character, under the influence of education. It is not only the acquiring of knowledge, the becoming familiar, for example, with literature, that is meant; it includes also the effect on the life, the thoughts, the feelings, of familiar contact with refinement. We all know the influence on the nature of intimate association with those who are intelligent and refined.
There is also a spiritual culture, the improving, enriching and refining of the spiritual part of our being. We begin our Christian life as spiritual children, in the lowest grades at school. Yet we are to grow in all the qualities which belong to the beautiful Christian character. Spiritual culture is the process by which our nature is softened and mellowed into the gentleness of love, our talents are developed into their best possibilities of usefulness, and our whole life is transformed into the beauty of Christ.
It is very important that those who teach others should themselves have a rich spiritual culture. We cannot impart what we do not possess. The influence of one's personality is among the most potent influences in one's life. Manners are far more important than we are apt to suppose. Our smallest crudeness is as dead flies in the perfumer's ointment, which mar its sweetness. Refinement is in itself not only a charm--but a subtle power in one's personality. There is a spiritual refinement in some people which adds manifold to the value of all they do or say. It is indefinable. We cannot analyze it nor tell what its secret is, but it is an unmistakable power. Everyone who would guide others in spiritual things should seek for this charm of spiritual culture.
We should long for the best that we can attain. The Master would have all his servants vigorous and wholesome Christians. He desires not only that they may have life, but that they may have abundant life. He always expects large things from faith and consecration. He spoke of the new life he gives--as a well of living water in the heart, and said that from this fountain, not a trickling streamlet--but rivers of water, shall flow. It should be our aim to attain the high standard that the Master has set for us. We should be content with nothing less than the best Christian culture, resulting in the finest character and the largest possible usefulness.
But we cannot dream ourselves into such spiritual attainments; we can only forge them out for ourselves in most heroic, patient, and persistent striving, with the earnest use of the means of grace. Nothing good can be gotten without cost. We must be willing to burn the oil of life if we would give out light.
One step in personal spiritual culture is the giving up and putting off of every wrong thing. It may seem needless to exhort Christians to put away their sins, but even in good lives there may be evil yet cherished which hinders spiritual growth and lessens usefulness. These sins may be so dear to us that we do not care to give them up. Or perhaps we fight against them, but do not overcome them. There are days when we seem to be victorious; we easily master our weakness, and put our besetting vice under our feet. We begin to feel encouraged, thinking that at last the battle is won. Then suddenly, again, we face the old temptations, and lie again in the dust defeated.
If we would have our spiritual life deepened, we must get these sins out of our heart and habit. So long as they stay in us, they will vex and plague us, hindering God's work in us, and marring our usefulness. Unless we expel them, and possess the whole territory of our lives for Christ, we shall not have deep peace, neither shall we become of great use to God.Permitted sins always make men weak. A defeated man cannot help others greatly in their struggles. The reason Jesus Christ is able to succor us in every temptation is because he overcame — he was "in all points tempted, like as we are, yet without sin."
But says some weary struggler, "I cannot master these evils of my heart. When I begin to think I have them subdued, suddenly they rise up again like giants. I cannot expel them."
True, no man can make the conquest of his own life. But Jesus can do this for us and in us. We do not know what a perfect salvation he is able to give us. We say he saves us from our sins, and we think only of sin's guilt, — that he took upon himself on Calvary the curse that was ours, redeeming us. He did this, and there is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus. But Christ would save us from our sins in a far deeper way than this. He would save us from the sins themselves, — take them out of our hearts. We may get the victory over all our sins through him who overcame the world. When we have got this mastery, we are ready to be a blessing to others.
Another important element in the process of spiritual culture is to be right both with God and man. For a whole year after David's great sin he was in the black shadows of his transgression. God's hand was heavy upon him. His life was like a drought-smitten field. God's face was hidden. Neither was he right with men. He had done grievous wrong to many others; he had sinned against the whole nation. But there came a day when his sin was set before him by Nathan's faithful word. Repentance followed; he got right with God and also with man. Then blessing came. God's wonderful forgiveness brought peace and cleansing. David had joy and gladness once more, and the bones which had been broken, began to be healed. The Holy Spirit who had been grieved returned to the penitent heart. The joy of salvation was restored. Now David was ready to teach other transgressors God's ways.
Not always are Christians entirely at one with God and man. So long as there are sins unconfessed and unforgiven, there is a cloud shutting out the full sunlight; and so long as there are grudges in the heart, and strivings and contentions with others, the blessing flows hindered into our own hearts, and hindered through us to the lives of others. It is well that every Christian shall now and then put himself to the test with such questions as these: "Is there anything between my soul and God, anything that separates me from God and hinders closest communion; any evil thing not given up, any sin unconfessed and unforgiven? Is there anything between me and any other soul, anything that hinders complete friendship?" If this testing reveals anything that comes between us and full blessing, we must resolutely put it away, whatever the cost may be, if we would promote our own spiritual culture. We must be right both with God and man, if we would have a rich work of grace in our own hearts, and if we would have God work freely in us in blessing others.
Another essential element in the culture of the spiritual life is prayer. Of course, we all pray. Every Christian prays, — prays every day, prays twice every day. That is, every Christian kneels every morning and evening, and says a prayer. It is always praying? Is the heart always in the words? Is it a real meeting of the soul with God? Do we not too often merely go over some form of words, into which we put neither thought, desire, faith nor love? Such praying will never enrich our spiritual lives.
If we look over the names of those who have grown into strength of spiritual character, and have become blessings to men, we shall see that they were all men of prayer. Abraham was a man whose influence has lived all the ages since his time, and he was on such intimate terms with heaven that he was called the friend of God. Moses wrought mightily for the uplifting of the race, and he talked with God as a man talks with a friend. We know what a power Daniel was in the world, what a magnificent character he had, how he stood for God, for truth, and for principle, and did not once fail. Daniel was a man of prayer. Behind his sublime career was his closet, where three times a day he knelt before God.
Or take Jesus. Never was there any other such life of beauty and blessing lived in this world. All these centuries, the fragrance of his name has been spreading among the nations, the very saving health of God to millions. Jesus got his strength — that which made his life so victorious and so rich in its influence — through unbroken communion with God in prayer.
The teaching from all this is that we can never have deep spiritual life without much prayer. A few hurried minutes of formal praying in the morning and a few sleepy moments of saying prayers in the evening, will never bring down into a life any large measure of the love and grace of God. Before we can live deeply--we must be on terms of intimacy with Christ. John's life grew and ripened into a rich splendor of spiritual beauty, and we know the secret — he was the close friend of Jesus. We can attain like blessing only by living with Christ, by daily communing with him. No mere formal devotions will do; there must be a life hid with Christ in God, a dwelling in the secret place of the Most High, an abiding in Christ.
One result of such living is the imbuing of our spirits and characters with the very life of Christ. If we live ever in his presence, his life will permeate our very being. Another result is spiritual power. We desire to have influence over men, that we may do them good. Such power we can get only from God in prayer. It is not mere personal magnetism, human love, eloquence, earnestness, or enthusiasm--which will make us real helpers, comforters, and healers of others; only the power and grace of God, received through prayer, can prepare us for such service.
Bible study is also important in spiritual culture. It would be interesting to know how much of God's word most Christians take into their lives on their average day. With too many, their ordinary daily devotion consists in a brief, hurried prayer at the bedside, with no reading of God's Word. Such devotions will never feed one's soul. If prayer is the "Christian's vital breath," the Bible is the "Christian's daily bread." Not to get a portion of it into the heart every day is to starve the soul.
The great men of the Bible were all lovers of God's Word. The people of Israel were taught to read it continually, to hide it in their hearts, and to meditate upon it day and night. Job esteemed the words of God's mouth more than his necessary food. We know where Mary learned the sweet lessons which made her life so beautiful, — she sat at the Master's feet and heard his words, and these words transformed her.
In no way can we ever become rich hearted Christians, with abundant life, much fruit, and lovely character, but by feeding upon God's Word. Someone writes of the power of a noble thought to make one strong to resist temptation. Another says that one of the secrets of always staying young, is to keep new thoughts ever in one's mind. It is wonderful what enriching one gets from familiarity with the best books. But there is no other book whose great thoughts so strengthens one against temptation, so renews one's youth and so enriches one's nature as the Bible. To make it one's daily study is to grow continually in spiritual culture.
There are other ways of deepening spiritual life which might be mentioned. One is faith. It is in believing on Christ that we get the life of Christ into our souls. Obedience is another. Those who do God's will, learn more of that will; for, as we follow on, the way is opened to us. Service is another; for love is the law of life, and love can live only in giving and serving. Sorrow and trial are experiences in which the divine intention always is the deepening and enriching of the life. We are not ready to be used in any large way as helpers of others until we have suffered. Most of us have to be broken before we can become bread to hungry souls. Most of us must learn sympathy and get the gentle touch--through suffering of our own.
It is very important that those who lead the young in spiritual things should themselves have a rich experience of the love of Christ. Every teacher should be a close friend of Christ, living with him, coming always from his presence to sit down before the class that waits, eager to be taught and led. We should never be content with small attainments in spiritual things, with a feeble flow of divine life in our souls, with bearing only a little fruit. It is God's will for us that we should attain the highest possible things in spiritual culture, and should bear much fruit.
Back to The Devotional Life of the Sunday School Teacher