Practicing Gospel Awareness or "Christian Mindfulness"

Location, Location, Location!

What does it look like to practice Gospel Awareness? How do you remain mindful of your relationship to Christ in the push and pull of daily life? It’s not easy. It requires focus, practice, humility and patience….with yourself.

It’s All About Union With Christ

Theologians have a phrase to capture this idea of a relationship with Christ; they call it “union with Christ.” The apostle Paul calls it being “In Christ.” He uses this term approximately 165 times in his letters. That means it must be pretty important.

There are many passages that highlight different aspects of this new status and relationship that we have with God. One such place is Ephesians 1, which starts with these words;

Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ.

Paul then goes on to list these “spiritual blessings”—these are all ways of describing the many facets of our new relationship with God. And the implications for daily living are profound.

Below is a list of nine blessings that are true of you if you are “in Christ” for you to slow down and meditate on. You can find a more exhaustive explanation of each of these in Unstuck: A Nine-Step Journey to Change that Lasts.

Let’s Practice Christian Mindfulness

When you begin to savor what kind of relationship you have with God, you are more willing, able and ready to demolish anything that is keeping you from growing and becoming more like Jesus. So as you read the list, take a moment to talk to God and thank him for how he has made it possible for you to enjoy knowing him relating to him in the micro-moments of daily life.

1. Chosen and Predestined (Ephesians 1 v 4, 11): Before you ever came into existence, God chose you to be his very dear child. In view of the nature of your relationship with God, talk to him now and thank him for his grace. You are not alone in the universe.

2. Called (Ephesians 4 v 1, 4): By his Spirit, God began to draw you to himself long before you ever started thinking about moving in his direction. In view of the nature of your relationship with God, talk to him now and thank him for his grace. You were sought after by God.

3. Made alive / regenerated (Ephesians 2 v 4): As part of the process of being called, you were given new, spiritual, life that enabled you to confess your sins and place your trust and hope in Jesus. In view of the nature of your relationship with God, talk to him now and thank him for his grace. You are no longer powerless and enslaved to sin.

4. Justified (Ephesians 1 v 7, Romans 5 v 1): As a result of your initial trust in Christ, your sins were forgiven because Jesus died to pay the penalty for those sins. But there is even more. You are now viewed by God as if you have lived a perfect life because Jesus lived a perfect life in your place. In view of the nature of your relationship with God, talk to him now and thank him for his grace. You are fully accepted by God and you don’t have to earn his favor.

5. Adopted (Ephesians 1 v 5): At the very moment that you trusted in Christ you were “adopted” by God. You have moved out of the courthouse, where he sits as Judge, and you have been welcomed into the family home, where he embraces you as your Father. In view of the nature of your relationship with God, talk to him now and thank him for his grace. You are no longer isolated; you have the Father and the family you always wanted.

6. Ongoing Change (Ephesians 1 v 4, 13-14): Now that God has adopted you, he is committed to sanctifying you—making you more like Jesus. He has given you the Holy Spirit, who gives you a new power and ability to fight sin through the practice of daily repentance and faith. In view of the nature of your relationship with God, talk to him now and thank him for his grace. You are no longer pre-programmed to sin. You do not need to stay stuck. You can change!

7. Hope in Suffering (Ephesians 3 v 13): God loves you so much, and is so committed to making you like Christ, that he’s prepared to use any means to do it. And sometimes, that involves suffering (1 Peter 1 v 6-9). In view of the nature of your relationship with God, talk to him now and thank him for his grace. You will not be overcome by your suffering.

8. Perseverance (Ephesians 1 v 13-14; 2 v 10): God is going to finish what he started in you (Philippians 1 v 6). You are in a spiritual war that will not end until you die or Jesus returns (Ephesians 6 v 10-18). Your enemies are the world (the world around us that is at odds with God), the flesh (remaining sin in you that is not yet completely eradicated) and the devil (the one who would love to derail your faith). In view of the nature of your relationship with God, talk to him now and thank him for his grace. God is working in you to enable you to persevere until the very end.

9. Glorification (Ephesians 1 v 10, 13-14): And if all of this were not enough, you have his promise that one day you will be completely transformed into the glorious likeness of Jesus. In view of the nature of your relationship with God, talk to him now and thank him for his grace. The restoration of all things, including yourself, is coming.

Practicing Gospel Awareness or “Christian Mindfulness” will involve keeping these realities at the forefront of your mind as you go about your daily life. This will not happen automatically. It will require attention, awareness and focus. But as you do this over time, you will find that it will become more natural. These new habits will lead to a new way of thinking, believing and doing over time.

Read more about this in my latest book, Unstuck: A Nine-Step Journey to Change that Lasts.

The Key to Change

Union with Christ

Ready to Turn Right

Over the past few blogs, we've looked back to what Christ has done for us and how his Spirit is at work in us. We've looked around us at our circumstances. We've looked down the left fork—our negative responses and the desires that drive them. So how do we go about actually taking the right fork—choosing moment by moment to do the right thing? That's where we are headed beginning in this blog and the ones to follow.

The More You Know?

So how does ongoing change happen? We tend to think that if we just know the right things, change will follow. It’s the approach taken by the public service commercials on American TV. The commercial briefly describes the social problem (teenage pregnancy, obesity, heart disease, etc.), and then provides some helpful advice to address the problem. The commercial always ends with this statement: “The more you know.” In other words, Right thinking will lead to right behavior. We might call this a cognitive-behavioral approach. Research shows that very few people actually follow the advice that is given.

Many professing Christians approach the Christian life in the same way. The thinking is that if you struggle with worry, lust, gossip, greed, anger or addictions (you pick your problem), the best way to change is through awareness and information. “The more you know…”

It’s true that knowledge is important. If that weren’t true, then writing and reading this blog would be useless! Change won’t come if we don’t think rightly. But there is so much more to it than facts. After all, I know how I ought to treat my wife; but sometimes I don’t treat her in the way I know I should. I know what the speed limit on the freeway is; that knowledge alone does not mean I will change my driving habits. There must be another dynamic in addition to right thinking.

It's All About Relationship

Union with Christ

At first sight, it might seem that Paul agrees with the cognitive-behavioral approach. He says in Romans 12 v 2:

Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.

So, renewing your mind leads to transformation, right? Not quite—because when Paul talks about the mind, he’s talking not just about our intellectual capacity, but our inner person. If we were neuroscientists, we might say that Paul is speaking about the linkage between the rational brain and the emotional brain. But actually, Paul’s talking about something spiritual here—any biological change is enabled by God’s grace anyway! He is describing the part of someone that makes them tick; the central core of who a person is and what they live for. For Paul, if you are not changed at the core of who you are, change in your behavior will not follow. Real change begins at the level of what we honor, treasure, adore and worship on a daily basis.

This is how commentator William Hendricksen states what Paul means in these verses:

Paul does not say, ‘Substitute one outward fashion for another.’ … What is needed is ‘transformation,’ inner change, the renewing of the mind, that is, not only of the organ of thinking and reasoning but of the inner disposition; better still, of the heart, the inner being.

In other words, change must happen at a deeper level than just thinking and behaving.

What does this look like practically? It is more than talking to yourself and trying to convince yourself to change. It involves more than telling yourself to not worry, or get angry, or look at pornography because it is wrong. It is more than thinking positive thoughts (even biblical ones). It is even more than reminding yourself of who you are in Christ!

It involves talking to and relating to Christ in the midst of your anxiety, anger and addiction, or whatever your battle is. Since God is personal, change will be the result of you relating to him personally as you struggle. Because when you relate to Jesus in this way, gratitude and joy for his grace begin to work their way down deep into your soul. This is what drives true change! Relating to Jesus in this way could be called Christian meditation. It can be done alone in a quiet place or right in the middle of a hectic day—essentially, this word describes what it means to enter into a relationship and converse with a personal, loving, gracious God.

So here is the right way to approach change: right relating to God based upon right thinking about God will lead to right living before God. This does not mean it will be easy to overcome your struggles, nor does it mean that change will happen automatically or quickly. Rather, it will happen gradually over time. But it will happen.

In chapter 7 of Unstuck: A Nine-Step Journey to Change that Lasts, I consider how the various ways that our union with Christ is described can be used as a means of connecting with God in practical ways while facing temptation and suffering.

Does Gospel = Jesus?

Much is being said about “Gospel-centered” ministry. This is a good problem, by the way! I could not think of a better substitute for other problems brewing in our churches on a weekly basis. Still, definition is needed.

My concern is that the term “gospel-centered” can almost objectify what is ultimately intended to describe a relationship. Even the word “grace” can serve in a similar way. Each word is accurate, but a relationship with the person of Christ is inadvertently eclipsed.

Why is this so important? If you are not careful, you can make the Christian life about what you believe rather than in whom you believe.  In other words, rather than focusing on the Blesser, you focus on the blessings.  It’s a subtle shift. This can impact the way we think about the change process.

One may "meditate" on their justification, adoption or their regeneration (or any of the other blessings that are ours in Christ). These are wonderful realities to reflect upon but not apart from talking to and interacting with the One who has made these blessings possible. Without knowing it, Christian growth is driven by right thinking and not right relating. While right thinking and doctrine is important, right relating is foundational. Right thinking may leave you in your own mind while right relating takes you outside of yourself.

My standard definition of change goes something like this: A thoroughly Christian understanding of change is not less than behavioral but more; it is not less than cognitive, it is more; it is covenantal. The word “covenant” means relationship. Christian change has at its center, not a discipline or some secret knowledge or technique but a Person, Jesus.

In his helpful book, The Work of Christ, Robert Letham says, 

As far as we are concerned, union with Christ begins to be a reality when we trust in Christ for salvation….Union with Christ is, in fact, the foundation of all the blessings of salvation. Justification, sanctification, adoption and glorification are all received through our being united to Christ (p.80)

I think that sums it up. Union with Christ is key. The Apostle Paul, in his letter to the Ephesians, repetitively uses the word "in." We are in Christ. What a strong way of describing how intimate this relationship is.