Seven signs of spiritual life

If the church were a patient in hospital, it would be admitted into intensive care, for the vital signs of life are not evident! What are the vital signs of life? Remember the Biology mnemonic - MRS GREN? [Movement, Respiration, Sensitivity, Growth, Reproduction, Excretion, Nutrition]

GROWTH

Are you growing? | Are you friendships & relationships developing and deepening? | Is your faith deepening? | Do you feel like your spirituality is maturing and bearing fruit? | How have you grown over the last 6 months? | Where havent you grown?

Sensitivity starts when recognise hardness in our lives and decide we want to be softened in some way. Do we miss opportunities in life, with people we know and meet due to hardening of attitude, mind-set, prejudice or lack of acceptance?

If something is alive it is on the move: Are you on the move? | Is God moving in you at the moment? | When did you last say yes or go to what God wants for you? | Are we in step with Gods plan for our lives?

MOVEMENT

[Jeremiah 33:3: Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and hidden things that you have not known.]

RESPIRATION

[Galatians 5:25: "Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit]

What are you inhaling and taking in? | When and where have you [or do you] sense the breath or presence of God breathing in your life? [John 21: Jesus breathes new life into the faith of Peter & the disciples after the resurrection]

SENSITIVITY

Are you sensitive to God and what he is saying in the world? | What areas of your life have become hardened and maybe need to be softened?

[Ezekiel 36:26: I'll give you a new heart, put a new spirit in you. I'll remove the stone heart from your body and replace it with a heart that's God-willed, not self-willed.]

When have you shared your faith recently? | Or at least had a chat about along the lines of is there more to life than this? with friends, family or colleagues? | Are you willing to share and witness and to speak of your faith and explain more about who Jesus is? Do you need to get rid of a fear of rejection and what others may think or how they might respond?

As followers of Jesus, its our commission and calling to help others to grow, Jesus last words to us on earth were: Go and make disciples [Matthew 29:19]

REPRODUCTION

If we are truly growing, our foundations and roots are deepening and strengthening and we will be bearing fruit. If its not, we can pray for God to breathe new life and growth into our lives, but it requires us to be proactive and do something. When we break bones, it is of course painful, but the mending and regrowth can also be painful strengthening ourselves is a painful process, but worth it in the end!

How do you feed on the words of Jesus? | How do you let the Word of God feed you? | Are you investing your time and energy into things that will help you grow? | Whats your spiritual diet? Fast-food or gourmet? | Regular feeding or occasional binges? | Are you helping others to grow and deepen faith? In small/home groups, in prayer triplets etc? | Are we bothered about the stuff that bombards us every day in some many different ways? | Everything goes in but Have we become anesthetised or passive to filtering and regulating all that is thrown at us?

Jesus refers to himself as the bread of life: I am the bread of life. Those who come to me will never go hungry, and those who believe in me will never be thirsty[John 6:1]

NUTRITION

We are very quick to avoid toxins, fatty or sugary things in our diet, but are we as quick to recognise these in our internal spiritual lives? How you treat people defines who are: let tolerance & patience define your life. Deal with things quickly and openly, in the presence of others [Matthew 18:15] If we are alive and healthy, we get rid of toxins effectively.

[Psalm 139:23-24: Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.]

EXCRETION

How do you deal with the negatives and toxins in your life? | How do you treat people that you dont get on with or like? | What are you toxins? | Have they been dealt with?

How can you utilise this tool in your personal walk with Jesus? Stick it in your Bible or journal and reflect back Go through it with your spouse as an annual review Use it for a group retreat or small group discussion.