Superficiality is the curse of our age

In his book Celebration of Discipline, Richard Foster

states, “Superficiality is the curse of our age… The

desperate need today is not for a greater number of

intelligent people, or gifted people, but for deep people.”

Think back on your day so far… In what ways were you

superficial today? I often ask how people are doing, but it

is out of courtesy, not out of genuine care. We write quick

notes, run from meeting to meeting, talk about life in 140

characters, and shake as many hands as possible. But how

deep are we? And if that is how we approach one another,

how often are we superficial with God?

The transformation of our lives takes place in direct

proportion to the time we spend with God. If we want to be

a better friend or spouse, we spend time with the other

person and get to know them better. If we want to be a

better follower of God, we have to spend time with him

and get to know him better. Paul writes about this in

Ephesians 2, the sister letter to Colossians. He states,

“Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and

strangers, but fellow citizens with God’s people and also

members of his household, built on the foundation of the

apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the

chief cornerstone. In him the whole building, being joined

together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord. And in him

you too are being built together to become a dwelling in

which God lives by his Spirit” (Eph. 2:19-22). When we

dwell with God and spend time with him, he continues to

help us grow and be built and established. We become

what God wants us to be, and our relationship with HIM

and our relationships with ONE ANOTHER become

deeper, more loving, and more nourishing. May we be

people who are growing in the Lord.