Routine or Reality????

As I write this post, I am wrestling with a question - Am I living in routine or in reality? I'm going to do my best to explain what that means in my mind, and then, I want you to ask you, along with myself, to make a choice. Routine or Reality?

Routine - n - 1. a customary or regular course of procedure 3. regular, unvarying, habitual, unimaginative, or rote procedure (Dictionary.com)

We all have several activities that are routine - things we do mostly at the same time of day and in the same manner. Brushing my teeth comes to mind first. If you were to ask my husband about my morning routine, he would probably call it a ritual! It goes something like this: brush my teeth, wash my face, take a couple of pills (one is a hormone and one is for blood pressure - you don't want me to NOT take either of those!), wash my hair, do my make-up, dry my hair, etc. If anything gets me off that routine, I may end up at church or work with wet hair or as a raving maniac! That's how stuck I am in my routine! I feel confident that you are relating to this - well, maybe not the hormones! That just seems to be the way we are wired.

The scariest experience of routine is when you are driving a familiar path to work, a store, or even home from somewhere, and you realize that you don't remember the last couple of minutes, you don't remember passing by a certain landmark or stopping at a red light. (I hope you are still relating to this???) Scientists tell us that these are times when our subconscious takes over, and we are actually on cruise control. That has happened during my morning routine also. There have times when I've had to count the blister-pack to see if I took my blood pressure medicine because I could not remember taking it! That's so bizarre!

Reality - n - 1. the state or quality of being genuine; not counterfeit, artificial, or imitation; authentic; 2. the state of being present  (Dictionary.com)

Reality is getting a bad rap these days due to "reality t.v." The number of shows on the countless number of channels is probably more than we want to know. And, for the most part, what purports to be "reality" is no more than an unscripted script. Most do not come close to showing genuine or authentic life. Reality changes when the camera shows up!

Then there is the issue of personal reality. Again, most people show others only what they want them to see. The person(s) who really knows our reality is the one who lives with us everyday. My husband knows the "real" Debbie more than anyone else because we have spent so much time together. But even he doesn't know all of my inner-most thoughts.

These words are not opposites. In fact, some would argue that one cannot chose between them because they exist simultaneously. And that is true to some degree. Everyone has routines in their lives, and that is part of our reality.

However, when it comes to my spiritual life, my relationship with Jesus Christ, I need to evaluate the role of each one. Routine - do I need some regular, habitual procedures in my walk with the Lord? Obviously, the answer to that is yes. I need to regularly spend time in His Word and in prayer. Those are two of the most important ways we communicate with each the Lord. Do I need to worship regularly and fellowship with other believers consistenly? Again, the answer is yes. The problem comes with part of the definition. When an activity becomes unimaginative or a rote procedure, am I really present? Or do I tap the cruise control button and am not even aware of all that is going on? How many times have I walked out of Bible study or church and couldn't really tell you what was talked about? Or how much of my prayer time is repetitive thank you's, bless them's, and don't forget the food? We do need some regular routines in our spiritual walk, but when they become so routine that my heart and mind doesn't even have to be present, something is wrong.

I was reading the first couple of chapters of Acts when this idea of reality began bumping around in my mind. After Jesus was raised from the dead, He spent forty days appearing to the disciples and various other people at random times giving them assurance that He was the same Jesus and giving them instruction. Right before He ascended into heaven, He told the disciples to return to Jerusalem and wait for the coming of the Holy Spirit. The gathered in the upper room and waited for ten days. While they waited, they prayed. They were out of their routine. Jesus was gone from them; they were on their own waiting. The Holy Spirit came upon those 120 people in a dramatic way. Their reality changed. The authentic Jesus was very present with them once again - only now in the form of the Holy Spirit. Jesus, as a man, could only be in one place at a time. As a spirit, He could (and can) be everywhere, and He empowered them in a supernatural way.

Fifty days ago, Peter denied even knowing the man Jesus. After the Holy Spirit filled him, he preached to a huge crowd about the risen Jesus, and over 3,000 accepted Him as their Savior that day. The Christian church was birthed in the reality of the Holy Spirit!

Acts 2:42-47 gives the account of this first church. It says, "and they were continually devoting themselves to the apostles' teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer...and day by day continuing with one mind ...with gladness and sincerity of heart, praising God...and the Lord was adding to their number daily those who were being saved."

They were living in the reality of the Holy Spirit - not the routine of godliness. The reality of the Holy Spirit is that He is ALIVE, REAL, ACTIVE, EMOTIONAL, and POWERFUL! That's what "the state of being present" means! You are not on cruise control, not remembering if you encountered Him today or not. You are so conscious of His presence, that everything you do is framed by that awareness. Is your spiritual life dull and seemingly non-existent even though you know that you know Him as Savior? Then perhaps you've been living in the routine of godliness. It's worth pondering.

As for me, I want to live in the REALITY of the Holy Spirit!!!