New Year Exercises
Jude 1:20-21: Spiritual Building Blocks
20 But you, beloved, building yourselves up on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit, 21 keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life.
Peter calls them [us] “living stones.” “…you also, as living stones, are being built up a spiritual house…” [1 Peter 2:5]. Paul gave a similar description: “…in whom the whole building, being fitted together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord, in whom you also are being built together for a dwelling place of God in the Spirit.” [Ephesians 2:21-22]
These are the building blocks of the church; they describe you and I, “living stones,” different shapes and sizes, ages, different backgrounds, and different personalities. Yet we all are being built up into a “spiritual house” with Jesus as the Centerpiece, the “Chief Cornerstone.”
The building blocks are “building up” the church, but what is building up the building blocks? After all, a “spiritual house” is only as strong as its living stones. I know that our strength ultimately comes from the Chief Cornerstone. But here in Jude 1:20-21, five spiritual exercises are highlighted that will make us [the building blocks] stronger into the New Year and beyond. We would do well to consider them.
Firstly, faith; our “most holy faith.” Faith is holy; it sets us apart from this physical world. It is not something dictated by touch and feel, yet it is something we know by the Spirit of God. If you want to be built up this year, exercise faith. Take a step of faith. Receive the promises of God, and then by faith trust Him and follow Him toward their personal fulfillment in your life.
Secondly, “praying in the Holy Spirit.” I know that that sounds like a no brainer. What other prayer is there? But sometimes we can pray in a rut rather than in the Spirit. Let’s ponder this, “praying in the Holy Spirit,” before we launch into auto-pilot prayers. What does it mean to “pray without ceasing”? What did Jesus mean when He said, “If you ask anything in My name I will do it”? I think that James, who was called “Old Camel Knees” because of his radical prayer life, put his finger on the answer: “…let every man be swift to hear, and slow to speak…” [James 1:19]. Building up comes from hearing God, which comes from being swift to hear and slow to speak. We’d be better building blocks if we were better listeners, especially in prayer.
Thirdly, “in the love of God” we can build up others; which in turn will build us up. I think we oftentimes forget a fundamental spiritual principle, “It is more blessed to give than to receive.” It is a blessing to receive love; it is more of a blessing to give it [unconditionally]. God is our great example. “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son,…” Let’s make it a priority to try it this year; let’s take steps of faith to be kind and loving to someone who doesn’t deserve it, and then trust the Lord for the outcome. In the end I think we will find that we are built up even more than that person.
Fourthly, “looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ.” It really is true, what we set our eyes upon dictates who we are and what we become. Let’s be “looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ.” As we do, we, too, will become merciful. Mercy is a key building block in God’s economy. It is a character strength that patiently awaits His chosen to accept His invitation no matter how difficult they are.
Fifthly, having an “eternal life” perspective. We must never forget that this world is not our home! Our citizenship is Heaven. We are sojourners here and so we ought to live like one; having a loose grip on this life and a firm grip on eternity. A temporal Christian is a weak Christian; there’s no separating the two. But a Christian with an eternal life perspective is one who becomes an impenetrable spiritual building block that gets better and stronger with time.