Harvest’s “Spiritual Discipline of Loving Others"
Resource Type: Experiential learning opportunity
Main Audience: Probably best suited for small group use by mature Christian ministry practitioners who wish to grow even further in servanthood
Organization: Harvest
Program: A Spiritual Discipline of Loving Others
Dates: N/A
Location: Anywhere
Cost: N/A
Website: www.harvestfoundation.org (Click “Materials,” then "Download your Materials" then "Harvest Lessons").
Summary:
A Spiritual Discipline of Loving Others is an exercise designed to help Christians learn to love others. There is no monetary cost and it can be done anywhere. It is a multi-week activity for individuals, although it may be helpful for a group of individuals to work through the exercise at the same time for encouragement and accountability. The author, Bob Moffitt, found this exercise to be personally challenging and beneficial and so has provided this manual to guide others through the exercise of becoming more like Jesus through the discipline of learning to love others.
The exercise divides basic human needs into four categories based on Luke 2:52 (NIV), “And Jesus grew in wisdom and in stature, and in favor with God and men.”
· Wisdom Need – knowing and implementing God’s intentions for our relationships, physical, spiritual, and social
· Physical Need – our relationship to the physical world
· Spiritual Need – our relationship with the spiritual world
· Social Need – our relationships with other human beings
The exercise also provides four levels of response: family, church, local community, and distant community. During the exercise, individuals are challenged to respond to the needs of another in each of the four categories, on each of the four levels. For example, by the end of the exercise participants will respond to the needs of a family member in the categories of wisdom, physical, spiritual, and social needs. Individuals will do the same for members of their church, local community, and distant community. A “discipline of love matrix” is provided in order to help participants understand the exercise. The discipline contains two cycles of four to six weeks in order to work through the matrix, and a third cycle with a varying time frame. Prayer, identification of need, meeting the need, reflection, and journaling are an important part of the exercise. Blank worksheets are provided to help guide reflection and record progress. The manual also provides example journal entries.
The purpose of this exercise is to help individuals grow and respond appropriately to the needs of others. It is written for individuals who want to gain a deeper understanding of God. Through obedience to God’s command to love others, participants gain a deeper, richer understanding of God. This exercise challenges and teaches individuals to look outside of themselves in order to see the needs around them. By serving the needy in their families, churches, communities, and the world, participants become more like Jesus.
