But you, beloved, build yourselves up on your most holy faith; pray in the Holy Spirit; keep yourselves in the love of God; wait for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life.
Jude 1: 20-21
The idea of “Build Yourself” is on our minds every day. We think about it as we pay our bills and watch the balance of our bank accounts fluctuate. We think about it as we see the economy rise and fall. We think about it as we contemplate changing jobs, buying a new house, getting married, having kids, losing weight, going on a trip and so many other instances where we think of self-improvement and life advancement. Lost in the busy-ness of life is the idea of building ourselves up spiritually. We are so in the weeds with the day-to-day things, we sometimes forget the ultimate goal and the ultimate destination—eternal life in the Kingdom of God, and the accounting before the awesome judgment seat of Christ that stands in between us and the Kingdom. In building up ourselves materially and socially, we need to be cognizant of building up ourselves spiritually. The material and social achievements will come to an end one day. The spiritual structure we build will carry us forever.
As we discussed previously, the first thing we need in building anything is a good foundation. The foundation of personal spiritual growth is personal, not only communal. Spiritual growth does not occur exclusively in community. Just going to the Divine Liturgy on Sundays is not enough. There is a point where we must take personal responsibility for building up ourselves spiritually. Some helpful steps include reading the Bible daily. Reading an annotated version of the Bible is effective. The Orthodox Study Bible is an example of an annotated Bible, as there are footnotes and explanations for every chapter to help us understand what may not be easy to grasp on first read. Most churches offer Bible studies and catechism classes. In this digital age, there are on-line classes and podcasts that you can do at your speed, and at your convenience. Building up our knowledge of God will help us build up our practice of Christianity. Of course, we gain knowledge of God through personal prayer and reflection. In prayer and quiet reflection, not only do we speak to God, but He speaks to us. Many of us find answers in prayer, because as we pray for guidance, God brings guiding thoughts to our minds.
Of course, knowledge without application is not very useful. We must learn, but we also must put into practice what we have learned. In practicing our Christian faith, the key factor is consistency. The New Testament book of Jude is a one-chapter Epistle attributed to Jude, the brother of James (who is also called the brother of the Lord, which makes Jude kin to Jesus, either as half-brother or cousin, there is debate on this). Jude gives both encouragement and warning that those who follow Christ must be consistent. In Jude 20-21, we read, “But you, beloved, build yourselves up on your most holy faith; pray in the Holy Spirit; keep yourselves in the love of God; wait for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life.” It is not enough just to have a foundation of faith. We need to build on it. Praying in the Holy Spirit is one of the best ways to do this. The grace of the Holy Spirit comes into us each time we pray. It also comes into us when we worship, and specifically through the sacraments. Keeping ourselves in the love of God means having Christ as an umbrella over our lives, both when we are alone and when we are with others. Ideally, everything is done under the umbrella of faith. Waiting for anything requires patience. The wait for the mercy of Christ unto eternal life means being patient through the ups and downs of life as we make our way to eternal life.
God does not micromanage the building up of our spirituality. He has given us freedom to do anything, to build a life as we choose to build it. Each of us has a unique path to Paradise that God has laid out for us. It is our choice to walk it, and it is our choice, what we will do along the way. However, choices have consequences. The goal is to seek things that edify ourselves, and knowing what things we should also avoid. In I Corinthians 10:23, St. Paul writes “All things are lawful, but not all things are helpful. All things are lawful, but not all things build up.” The challenge with freedom is that it needs to be used responsibly and with some restraint. This is why we pray for wisdom and discernment, to understand choices and consequences and to make good choices that bring us closer to God.
In I Corinthians 8:1, we read “We know that all of us possess knowledge. Knowledge puffs up, but love builds up.” We are supposed to build up ourselves. We are supposed to use our talents. There is nothing wrong with working hard and using what you’ve earned to have a nice home, take vacations, and enjoy life. A good life and a good Christian life are not mutually exclusive. The challenge then becomes how much of our knowledge do we use for our own good, and how much do we express love for others in offering of ourselves to them? Again, this is where wisdom and discernment, reflected on in prayer, help guide us to the right balance.
We want to carry ourselves with confidence. Who wouldn’t want a confident doctor, or architect, or teacher, or anyone else that we rely on for accuracy and safety. Hopefully we want to be excellent in what we do. As we do what we do, and build a life for ourselves, it is important that we continually go back to God in thanksgiving, recognizing Him as the source of the talents that we confidently develop and express. We should build ourselves with confidence, and also with humility.
I will sing of Thy steadfast love, O Lord, forever; with my mouth I will proclaim Thy faithfulness to all generations. For Thy steadfast love was established forever, Thy faithfulness is firm as the heavens. Thou hast said, “I have made a covenant with My chosen one, I have sworn to David my servant; I will establish your descendants forever, and build your throne for all generations.” Let the heavens praise Thy wonders, O Lord, Thy faithfulness in the assembly of the holy ones! Psalm 89:1-5
Questions to ponder: How can you make sure that you are building yourself spiritually every day? How do you balance building with confidence and also with humility?
