I got some very good news this past week: I am officially no longer obese. My BMI has come down below 30, as my weight has dropped below 260 to 257. I don't know if people looked at me before and thought, "Wow! He's obese!" but I was, and that was not a healthy place to be. I am tall - 6'7" - and that has given me an excuse for carrying too much weight for too long. I got more good news this past week: My fasting blood sugar is normal. My total cholesterol is normal. My triglycerides are normal.
Like most people who struggle with being overweight, I have dieted before. I did a program called eDiets and lost 45 pounds. I did Weight Watchers Points and lost 30 pounds. I did South Beach and lost 30 pounds. That's 105 pounds I've lost on three different diet programs. Of course, you can probably guess that I put it almost all of it back on every time. (I've never gotten back up to my all-time highest weight of almost 300 pounds, thankfully!)
I really think this time is different. Here's why: I'm not on a diet.
I am not dieting; I am learning to eat differently. I am not trying to lose a certain amount of weight and then stop. I am striving, by God's grace, to change the way I think about food and the way I eat, permanently. This time, it's about a lifestyle change and not about a temporary quick-fix. In the past 6 weeks, I have lost approx. 18-20 pounds (I never got an accurate starting weight and that doesn't matter). On the three diets I tried before, I lost weight faster than this - 5 pounds per week; 20+ pounds in the first month. This time, it's not about the speed of weight loss; it's about the permanence of the lifestyle change.
I thought about my current experience and how it relates to our spiritual lives. Many of us have spent lots of time and energy running from one quick-fix spiritual solution to another. I can't tell you how many times I've been told, "You MUST read this book; it will change your life!" Of course, the people who said that to me were never talking about the Bible, were they? No, it was the Left Behind books, In His Steps, The Prayer of Jabez, The Purpose-Driven Life, or something similar.
If you know me, you know I'm not knocking books. Several books have influenced me deeply (none of the ones I just mentioned): Several C.S Lewis classics - Mere Christianity, The Screwtape Letters, The Problem of Pain, The Four Loves, God in the Dock - shaped my thinking about God in college. Desiring God, Knowing God, Pilgrim's Progress, Putting Amazing Back into Grace and The Holiness of God have all profoundly influenced my theology. I probably would not be where I am today without the influence of these books and the preaching ministries of James Boice, Glenn Parkinson and John Piper, along with the teaching ministry of R.C. Sproul. Matthew Henry, John Calvin, John Gill and Charles Spurgeon have shaped my understanding of Scripture time and time again.
Here's my point: It has never been the quick-fix, the one-time shot of spiritual adrenaline that has made the long-term difference in my spiritual life. I have fasted. I have attended conferences. I have had special seasons of sweet refreshment with the Lord. Yet I can honestly say that the daily discipline of Bible reading and prayer, the weekly pattern of worship, the continual struggle for growth in sanctification fueled by God's grace - these have been the ordinary means of my spiritual growth.
Christianity is not a diet. Spiritual growth is not a temporary spurt. Living with Christ and learning to live for Christ is a lifestyle. It involves a daily, consistent approach to thinking about God, spending time in His word, striving to be obedient, etc. And like diets, some of the quick-fix growth can seem to fade almost as quickly and not last beyond a week or so. It's when the spiritual rush is over and we wake up and feel like our normal selves again that we need to get on our knees, seek His face, and keep walking with Him. Today, may His grace enable you to see your whole life as a continual progression in holiness- ever-increasing grace bearing fruit in love, day-by-day.
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