I turned in my final papers for the summer quarter of seminary this week. Please note, I plan to talk about more than seminary very soon. But for now, this is where I’m at and my writing is going to have to follow me where I’m at in order for me to sustain it. However, even if you’re not interested in my seminary journey, I do think you might be interested in this assignment.
Over the course of the summer, I worked on crafting something called a Rule of Life. The assignment is based on the work of Stephen Macchia who wrote Crafting the Rule of Life: An Invitation to the Well Ordered Way. I haven’t actually read the book, as my professor only shared applicable excerpts throughout the course, but I just ordered it. I’m interested in reading it more in context.
Anyway, this assignment was so helpful to me, and though my professor told me that it will likely change as I mature in my understanding of Scripture and grow in my theology, it was a very good Rule of Life that will serve me well if I follow it. He also reminded me that it’s a Rule of Life, but as with all God’s commands, I’m not always going to follow it perfectly, but I will know where to come back when I falter.
What is a Rule of Life?
The purpose of creating a Rule of Life is to define what you want your life to be about. What are the things you do that keep you present to yourself and God and help you to orient your life around that which is good and righteous? Basically, what is it that you want to give your life over to? Also, your Rule of Life will outline who and what is most important to you and how you want to tend to those relationships.
Additionally, a Rule of Life is broken up into the following categories: daily, weekly, monthly and/or seasonally, and yearly. In each category, you outline smart goals that are God-honoring and life-giving that you want to devote yourself to as you pursue righteousness. But there is one catch! It can’t be more than 400 words and it can’t be less than 400 words. It has to be exactly 400 words.
Here’s what I ended the summer quarter with…
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