In an Ascension Presents YouTube video, Father Mike Schmitz spoke about a common feeling of Christians and feeling spiritually burnt out and wanting to quit. He goes on to introduce an idea, RIM. This acronym stands for Relationship, Identity, Mission – 3 key reminders in a sequential order, to feel spiritually fueled. So what do they mean?
You can access the full YouTube video here.
RELATIONSHIP – This relationship refers to our relationship with God the Father, which we receive through his Son and the Holy Spirit – a relationship that begins at Baptism. From this moment, we have access to the Father’s heart, we publicly acknowledge our confession of faith and belief in the Gospel, and we are saved from sin.
But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ dies for us ~ Romans 5:8
IDENTITY – It’s our relationship with the Father that gives us our identity. Part of this identity, is being a beloved child of God. We have been made new from Baptism and this new relationship with Christ.
Unless someone is born from water and spirit, they can’t enter God’s Kingdom ~ John 3:5
MISSION – Our mission as Christians is to evangelise the good news that Jesus sacrificed his life for ours to bring us forgiveness. This allows us to be reconciled to God through our faith in him. As part of our mission, we must remember that we have the ability to say no to others when needed – you are doing this as a beloved child of God. He will not love us any less if we say no, or anymore if we say yes, because he loves us already.
All you need to say is simply ‘Yes’ or ‘No’; anything beyond this comes from the evil one ~ Matthew 5:37