Rule of Life and the Role of Holy Spirit in Spiritual Formation
A Rule of Life is a pattern of spiritual disciplines that provides structure and direction for growth in holiness. A Rule establishes a rhythm for life which is helpful for being formed by the Spirit, a rhythm that reflects love for God and respect for how God has made us. The disciplines which we build into our rhythm of life help us to take off the “old self” and allow our “new self” in Christ to be formed. Spiritual disciplines are a means of grace by which God can nourish us. Ultimately a Rule should help you to love God more, so if it becomes a legalistic way of earning points with God or impressing others, don’t bother. If the traditional, ancient term “rule” concerns you because it sounds legalistic, think of “rule” as a “rhythm of life,” a “Curriculum in Christlikeness” (Dallas Willard), or a “Game Plan for Morphing” (John Ortberg).
Submit an essay in a Microsoft Word document double-spaced, 1-inch margins.
Your essay must include the following:
Introductory paragraph summarizing your Rule of Life.
In two to three sentences, explain the role of the Holy Spirit in your spiritual formation.
In two to three sentences, explain your role in your spiritual formation.
Describe in detail your Rule of Life, which should be broadly patterned after the Rules found in chapter ten of Marjorie Thompson’s book, Soul Feast. Here are some questions to guide you as you write your
Rule of Life:
What practices will I seek to engage in on a daily basis? Weekly? Monthly? Yearly? Where will I engage in these disciplines? What time of the day/week/month/year?
What spiritual disciplines will I share with a spiritual friend, or a group of friends, so as to grow together?
What additional activities or practices are particularly important given my personality type or spiritual type?
How will I need to adjust my schedule in order to consistently choose this rule of life? (Barton, 164-166).
Conclude your essay with a paragraph describing what you hope for as a result of living this Rule of Life.
My Rule of Life Essay
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People have their respective religions to worship and follow. With that, there inevitably are several disciplines and rules that people adhere to. Through this diversity, similarities can still be seen from several angles, such as their end goal of having more connection towards their respective Gods through spiritual formation. Having that in mind, it is our strength to prepare and follow our rules, and beneath here are my rules in life.
Introduction to Rule of Life
Thompson (2014) described the rule of life as a way for people to determine the spiritual disciplines they need to know to provide a deeper understanding and communication towards their God. In my case, my rule of life is simple yet provides me with a continuous connection with God. However, the rules of life that I have always followed were continuous honesty towards prayers, consistency in Bible studies, prescribed meditation, and planned fasting. These actions have guided me towards a better path as my life has been continuously faced with challenges for several reasons. Through them, I overcame many things which made my connection to God stronger than before. Having them has been the best action that I have taken, and today, I would like to share them all. Moreover, since people have different situations, I am still hoping that these rules may provide patterns and enlightenment.
Holy Spirit and Spiritual Formation
According to Horan (2017), the Holy Spirit is the guardian that guides people towards transformation through their inner dimensions. They are the key figures to help people in changing and developing. He also described spiritual formation as a process that lets the transformation of people towards better individuals efficiently. This transformation is also life-long as this process is accessed from the day people started to learn and self-evaluat5e themselves more, in terms of their spiritual traits. Also, he explained that Holy Spirit is connected to spiritual formation as they are one of the two things that provide a deeper relationship to God, while the other is Biblical guidance.
When it comes to myself, as an adult that has experienced many things in life, the role of the Holy Spirit in my life is more significant than what people could imagine. The Holy Spirit has served my life as the strength to conquer the challenges continuously heading my way. It also served as a guide that provided me with choices and thoughts that made my life better, which is why the Holy Spirit is like the will deep within me. While on the other hand, my role in my spiritual formation would be the embodiment of taking action on what I should do and what I ought to do. My role is to fulfill my rules and relay to myself that the things that I have experienced should be used as a stepping stone to change for the better. From that, I can say that through the Holy Spirit’s motivation, my role is to put these motivations into action and face my life head-on.
My Rule of Life
I have several rules in life that I consistently follow since they continuously help me, even now. M...