Spiritual lessons from dieting...

So I've been on a diet now for less than a week. It's not exactly a rigorous diet, but there are some significant restrictions (though only for the first two weeks). Basically the idea is no bread, pasta, rice, fruit, cereal, etc. Nothing that is high in carbohydrates. The theory is that most people are overweight because they've trained their bodies through constant abuse to process sugars poorly. Anyway, I digress.

I notice pretty much every night after dinner that familiar desire to have something sweet. A piece of pie. A scoop of ice cream, or whatever. In the past, I would indulge so long as the sweet stuff was available. But now, I am having to consciously resist those cravings.

I have realized that the difficult part is not the loss of the specific food, but rather the loss of freedom. I have to be more intentional now. I have to be vigilant, aware, constantly cognizant of what I allow into my body. I am no longer free. Or rather, I have willfully stripped myself of some freedoms to achieve a greater benefit. I wish I could be this vigilant in my relationship with God! How often do we simply do whatever comes into our mind to do. How often do we abuse our spirits with the "sweeties" of the world (Narnia reference). We know we shouldn't. We know that they will only bring us harm, but we figure that this one indulgence won't be so devastating.

That's what is hard about Christianity. We have to give up some freedoms in order to serve Christ. We don't like thinking about that, necessarily, but it's true. We have to give up our freedom to sin. Even harder, we have to give up our freedom to define sin for ourselves. This is a big one in our culture. We have to give up our freedom to choose what we want to do with our lives. Every day we are called to make sacrifices. Small ones, big ones. Sometimes HUGE ones.

I am reading Practicing the Presence of God. It is one of the most challenging books I have ever read. Brother Lawrence talks about three types of union with God: "the first is habitual, the second virtual, and the third actual." Here's his basic definitions of the three. Habitual union refers to the union all Christians share with God. We are unified with Him through grace, through the blood of Christ. Virtual union is basically temporary union. Say, through prayer, or a time of worship. We experience union with Him for the duration of that action. Then, we sort of "part ways." Actual union is a constant, unbroken abiding in the presence of God. In Lawrence's words, "[this union is] more intense than fire, more luminous than the sun in a clear sky."

That kind of abiding would take some serious sacrifice. As Lawrence puts it, it requires the exclusion of every distraction, no matter how small. How many of us would be willing to give up EVERY distraction in our lives?? Is blogging a distraction?

Yet of how much more worth will it be to hear my Father say, "Well done, good and faithful servant. Enter into your rest," than to weigh 175 lbs???