That phrase, “intimate relationship with Jesus” is a phrase that people normally associate with what we
would call personal piety. Piety brings to mind images of devout believers constantly on their knees in
prayer, or and small groups passionately discussing a verse of Scripture. But to talk about personal piety
in a more full and appropriate manner, we need to use a definition that can speak to the nuances of what
it means to be in intimate relation with the living, incarnate Christ. Let’s define personal piety as growing
in a friendship with God that enables you to love God, others and yourself more fully.
God:
So what does it mean exactly to love God? This is a topic that humanity has pondered for millennia, and
so our description here will obviously be incomplete. But in speaking about what it means to be in
relationship with God and love God, there are a couple of points that are important to keep in mind.
Our relationship with God is also characterized by a sense of reverence, awe and fear that sets it apart
from our other human relationships. By fear, we do not mean that we are scared of God, but rather that
we approach our relationship with the respect for the majesty of the Creator.
That being said, being in relationship with the Creator of the universe is going to by its very nature a
unique relationship, different from any sort of human friendship that we have. One of the unique aspects
of a relationship with God is that we can grow in that relationship through participation in ritual. In the
Deuteronomy passage from today, the text says: “But take care and watch yourselves closely, so as
neither to forget the things that your eyes have seen nor to let them slip from your mind all the days of
your life; make them known to your children and your children’s children“ (Deut. 4:9). Those worship
rituals (prayer, Scripture reading, hymns, communion) that we participate in serve as places where the
Holy Spirit can mold us and shape us into the type of people that can call themselves the Church. Just as
the Israelites were commanded to tell the story of their redemption to their children and their children’s
children, so we are commanded to internalize our Christian story, whether that is through Scripture,
prayers, or some other way, so that we can be molded into more like what we were called to be, that is,
the children of God.
Others:
Personal piety is often spoke of like the only part that is important is the vertical relationship, or in other
words, that it is all about “me and God”. While the spiritual practice of solitude is a beautiful and ancient
one, sometimes the role that other people can play in our personal piety is overlooked.
While personal piety is about our relationship with God, it is also about us and other people and their
relationship with God. The practices of personal piety also needs to happen in community so that other
people are part of our walk with God. In this way, we can encourage each other and our friendships will
be rooted in our mutual Christian communion.
In today’s Scripture, James says: “every generous act of giving, with every perfect gift, is from above,
coming down from the Father of lights”. The social holiness that Kaitlyn just talked about is intimately
tied and cannot be removed from our personal piety or rather, our relationship with God. Those
“generous acts of giving” are only possible when there is that relationship with the “Father of lights” so
that the Holy Spirit can work through our actions. As we discussed earlier, social holiness is part of our
response to God’s grace. As such, it is an incarnation of the spiritual lives of Christians and cannot be
separated from the practices that draw us closer to God. Personal piety informs and inspires social
holiness, and social holiness in return, enhances our personal piety.
Ourselves:
We were created as children of God. That is our true identity. It is by being in relationship with God that
we can start to learn what that true identity is and what it looks like for each of us. Through discovering
who we really are in Christ, we learn more about ourselves and who we were meant to be, and therefore,
are able to know and love ourselves more fully.
Part of the college experience is about discovering who we are and where our passions and vocations lie.
As Christians, this discovery process needs to lie within the framework of learning how we can best
devote the rest of our lives to God.
One of the ways in which we discern our vocation in Wesley is through small groups. Before you leave
today there will be an opportunity to get information on long-term small groups for the rest of the
semester but right now we’d like to break up into some small groups to go more in depth about these
concepts and to talk about how we see them in our own lives.
Group Questions:
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In what ways do you think that social holiness is necessary to the life of an individual Christian?
In what ways have you participated in social holiness in the past?
In what ways have you been most impacted by participating in social holiness?
In your own spiritual life, what ways have you seen social holiness and personal piety interact
with one another? In what ways have they seemed separate and disconnected? Why was that?
What does personal piety mean to you? What practices most speak to you?
When in your life have you felt like you were most growing in your personal piety?
In what ways are you looking to grow in your spiritual life/how do you feel you can best do that
over this next year?
Group Questions:



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

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In what ways do you think that social holiness is necessary to the life of an individual Christian?
In what ways have you participated in social holiness in the past?
In what ways have you been most impacted by participating in social holiness?
In your own spiritual life, what ways have you seen social holiness and personal piety interact
with one another? In what ways have they seemed separate and disconnected? Why was that?
What does personal piety mean to you? What practices most speak to you?
When in your life have you felt like you were most growing in your personal piety?
In what ways are you looking to grow in your spiritual life/how do you feel you can best do that
over this next year?
Group Questions:







In what ways do you think that social holiness is necessary to the life of an individual Christian?
In what ways have you participated in social holiness in the past?
In what ways have you been most impacted by participating in social holiness?
In your own spiritual life, what ways have you seen social holiness and personal piety interact
with one another? In what ways have they seemed separate and disconnected? Why was that?
What does personal piety mean to you? What practices most speak to you?
When in your life have you felt like you were most growing in your personal piety?
In what ways are you looking to grow in your spiritual life/how do you feel you can best do that
over this next year?
Group Questions:







In what ways do you think that social holiness is necessary to the life of an individual Christian?
In what ways have you participated in social holiness in the past?
In what ways have you been most impacted by participating in social holiness?
In your own spiritual life, what ways have you seen social holiness and personal piety interact
with one another? In what ways have they seemed separate and disconnected? Why was that?
What does personal piety mean to you? What practices most speak to you?
When in your life have you felt like you were most growing in your personal piety?
In what ways are you looking to grow in your spiritual life/how do you feel you can best do that
over this next year?