You Can't Mail It In

I love answers you can find in the back of the text book you are reading.  It always takes the pressure off having to work really hard because you have that little escape hatch.  On the other hand, it can take the discipline and effort out of really learning something.  People at different stages in their career sometimes are just "mailing it in". They don't want to go through the discipline, focus, habit, routine, and practice of intellectual discovery.  Just hand it to me.The great cellist Pablo Casals was famous for practicing musical scales several hours a day for his entire life.  When asked why he still practiced these at age 93, he responded: "Because I think I am making progress...  It's not a mechanical routine, but something essential to my life,"Becoming who you are can't be a haphazard activity but must be a disciplined journey that will end up transforming you and enrich you.  I guess if you want to be a good basketball player, driver, teacher, engineer, plumber, pastor, parent, you need to have that teachable spirit, that thirst for knowledge, the discipline that will push you to become even better.As a Christian you can't mail it in, you have to live it out on a daily basis, and on a weekly basis at God's altar.  Our faith needs to be practiced in worship, at prayer, and in service.  When those things fall into place, you will discover the joy of being a Christian.MEH