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\u201cAs the Father has sent me, I am sending you.\u201d (John 20:21)

All disciplines at their core are missional. \xa0They bring us into the reality of what it means to live according to the mission of God in the Church and in the world.\xa0 Just as spiritual gifts are to be used for the benefit of the body of Christ and to reveal Christ to the world, so too spiritual disciplines are not simply a way to improve ourselves and our own personal walk, although this is a definite benefit to us.\xa0 Disciplines are not only for self-help, but rather in order to transform our heart and also, the world.

So, what does living out the mission of God mean for us?\xa0 I will answer with a couple of quotes from Lesslie Newbigin who calls \u201cmission as love in action.\u201d \xa0And also states that \u201cthe Christian mission is thus to act out in the whole life of the whole world the confession that Jesus is Lord of all.\u201d\xa0 From Jesus\u2019 Sermon on the Mount came a spiritual renewal and a spiritual revolution.\xa0 Such that our beliefs, ideas, habits, inner self, and outer social relations, both to others and to the world are impacted.\xa0 This is the work of the Holy Spirit in the spiritual disciplines that we practice. This is the act of missional living.

There is a natural overflow in personal transformation to become more Christlike in our nature and in extension in how we relate to and interact with the world.\xa0 Even social structures become transformed. \u201cLet justice roll on like a river, righteousness like a never-failing stream!\u201d (Amos 5:25).

Spiritual formation that doesn\u2019t transform our lives to engage with the world runs the risk of self-preservation, self-indulgence and self-idolatry, turning a spiritual practice into something that is \u201cfor our own good\u201d and missing the working of the Holy Spirit in our lives and the world.

Disciplines such as solitude, silence and prayer are important because spiritual formation renders the transformation of hearts, and in turn the ability to embrace the mission and values of the kingdom of God.\xa0 To bless those who curse us, give without expecting payback, forgive those who have done wrong, live generously, serve sacrificially, deny ourselves, follow after Jesus for the sake of others\u2026the list could go on.

Spiritual practices are not simply to puff up our own egos, or to feel more righteous in our relationship with God or with others.\xa0 They are about holistic transformation.\xa0 Whole person, whole Church, whole community, whole world.\xa0 Spiritual disciplines are a means to intimacy with God and with one another.\xa0 Relationship and mission go hand in hand.