Shallow Living

As any of you who stop by here know, I have not blogged in months. I think I know why. A friend and colleague of mine told me that she thought blogging would fit me perfectly. I was hoping she was right and started on the journey. But contributing something here quickly became burdensome. I do not want to waste my time or yours, so I don’t write anything unless I think I have something to say. Which, if you know me, doesn’t stop me when I am with you in person!

I think the reason I haven’t blogged in a while is because I have been living too shallow. The world pushes us to live shallow. The pace of our 21st-century American culture calls us to live everywhere at once, which spreads us so thin we become shallow. I have not successfully resisted this and so my life has become shallow in these past few months.

Jesus invites me into the deep with him. Jesus asks me to spend time with Him every day, not just a few “devotional moments” but time. There is no legalistic definition to this time. In fact, seeking to define “time with Him” is a sign that you are living shallow. What young lover tries to figure out the “right” amount of time to spend with his beloved?

Blogging flows naturally out of my heart when it is full but becomes a burden when I am empty. How are you doing right now? Is your heart full? Or is the deep well of your being close to empty? Are you desperately trying to figure out how to keep going until some future rescue arrives? Consider these words of Jesus:

“Why do you call me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ and do not do what I say? I will show you what he is like who comes to me and hears my words and puts them into practice. He is like a man building a house, who dug down deep and laid the foundation on rock. When a flood came, the torrent struck that house but could not shake it, because it was well built.” (Luke 6:46-48 NIV)

The fight against shallow living is a fierce one and not to be taken lightly. We cannot fight this battle alone. Who is helping you live deep?