Lessons from Dave

I'm still reading through Eugene Peterson's "Working The Angles," a book about prayer, study, and spiritual direction. I'm on the third angle of spiritual direction, and was thinking back to Dave Frick's influence on my life. What does it take to have a significant spiritual role in someone's life?

Looking at Dave, I think I have an answer. Dave was not a highly educated guy. But that did not prevent him from ministering to me (among many). Neither did he have great resources. He was just a trucker. But here is the thing about Dave: he was spiritually minded.

Okay that sounds really obvious. "Wow, what a brilliant bloke this guy is." But there is something about Dave's approach to life that seemed to make up for a lot of flaws (although I personally couldn't think of any). Something about his mindset allowed him to really dwell on his hope, and God's rewards, and the reality of spiritual warfare. Christ's sacrifice was not just a password to get into the church club; it was the central truth of his life. That's why it transformed him from an insignificant trucker to someone whom God used to spiritually direct other Christians.

It may be that everyone has a different set of obstacles to developing a spiritual mindset. I would like to think that people like me have some more difficulty than most in developing this mindset - I can't say that for sure. But it is easy enough to say I need to be spiritually minded, or Spirit-minded, and not actually take the steps of talking to God, asking for his help, dwelling on universe-shaking truths, rejoicing, hunting for the meat of scripture. It is much easier to just think about things. Stepping into the spiritual walk is hard, physically demanding even.

I think Dave did every one of those things. Aside from those things, what is my Bible college education worth next to his lifetime of Spirit-filled walking? I believe I'm right to admire Dave's example. Maybe the fact is, Dave just believed all that stuff was true, and decided it was worth working at it. It really isn't complicated, it's just work.

Blast. I hate work. See, I'm already at a major disadvantage!

Dave once told me that when the Millenial Kingdom rolled on in, he wanted to have a chance to be a preacher and teach the Bible at a large church (or whatever the heck it will be called). I've got this feeling that when the time comes to assign tasks during the Millenium, a lot of men who were more qualified in this life will be passed over and guys like Dave will get first picks. Of course by now, Dave is far more qualified than any man on earth. For more on that, check Matthew 25:14-20.