"We humans, somewhere along the way, seem to have picked up the bad habit of trying to get life on our terms, without all the bother of God, the Spirit of Life. We keep trying to be our own gods; and we keep making a sorry mess of it. Worse, the word has gotten around in recent years that "spirituality" itself might be a way of getting a more intense life without having to deal with God - spirituality as a kind of intuitive bypass around the inconvenience of repentance and sacrifice and putting ourselves at risk by following Jesus in the way of the cross, the very way Jesus plainly told was the only way to the "abundant life" that he had come to bless us with.
The generic name for this way of going about things - trying to put together a life of meaning and security out of God-sanctioned stories and routines, salted with weekends of diversion and occasional erotic interludes, without dealing firsthand, believingly and obediently, with God - is "religion." It is not, of course, a life without God, but the God who is there tends to be mostly background and resource - a Quality or Being that provides the ideas and energy that I take charge of an arrange and use as I see fit. We all do it, more or less."
By Eugene Peterson in the forward for Church: Why Bother? by Philip Yancey.
As I read these paragraphs this morning, I was stopped in my tracks. I am not sure where this will lead.
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11 comments:
Jon,
Please elaborate on why you were stopped in your tracks.
In effort to become more "Unveiled" I would say these paragraphs resonated with me for several reasons.
I have really been struggling with my involvement at church. Why? I cannot pin point any one thing. It is not people, it is not the sermons, or anything like that. I feel like it is more the idea. My experience has been to structured, to engrained, to...religious.
In the words of Philip Yancey "For me, the very structure of church got in the way of getting my hands filled...A formal church service, with its unvarying routine, its repetitiveness, its crowds and bulletins and announcements, its conventions of standing up and sitting down, annoyed me. The longer you stay away from church the stranger it seems, and clearly I had got out of the habit."
I have not read any of C.S. Lewis, but I hear he went through some similiar struggles.
I also feel I often go around God rather than going to Him. I am more enamored with "doing" than with "being." Why is this so difficult?
As I previewed my comment, I realized that Jon has commented again, and so my comment may not flow as the textbooks recommend. Slow down, tiger.
This is great stuff. It would do me good to read that from time to time. But I think it contains a dangerous temptation. I think it could easily swing the pendulum too far.
How do we know that the God who created us doesn't want us to be significantly independent, inventive, entreprenurial, pioneering, creative, and lords in His Kingdom? This excerpt could quickly lead to a miserable "waiting room" to be called into the "abundant life unit."
I was positively impacted by these words. It makes me pause and become more inclusive with Jesus. But its a pause not a stop. I think the quest for life is a great thing. Let people hunt for life. We know the only place where they will find it. Let people search long and hard for life; until they are weary and starving; until the Holy Spirit has created a void in their life that only He can fill.
Cheers to the quest for a great life. Cheers to spirituality. If we allow the desires to blaze, they will eventually burn upon the proper fuel. Just don't turn down the flame. So, Yes, I accept a word to remind me that Jesus is my ever present companion through life. But, no, I will not take my foot off the gas pedal just because I'm on the wrong road. By keeping the pedal to the floor, I'll get back to the right road faster.
Richard,
Your comment reminds me of G.K. Chesterton's quote:
"I tried to found my own heresy, and when I had put the finishing touches on it, I discovered that it was orthodoxy."
I think it boils down to our view of God. Is it one of separation or of union? The key to life is union. If we have eyes to see our union with Him by His indwelling Spririt, I think we can live "spontaneously" under the umbrella of "love God and do as you please." How could it be anything different?
To the post above: very well put. I have heard the Holy Spirit called "the preserver of orthodoxy." Would you say that "union" was the underlying context of Pauls' charge to live by grace apart from the law?
-Mohammed Desoky
maybe my answer is more practical than philosophical, but my experience has been that my level of 'fulfillment' or 'contentment' or 'satisfaction' with my involvement in the local church directly corresponds to my level of service.
Jon, with what ministries are you involved? How are you using your spiritual gifts? Do you feel that your church has the opportunity for you to use them, or would facilitate your using them? Do you know what your spiritual gifts are?
"Dude, being unveiled is sweet!"
-Mother Theresa
"Hey, Pull my Finger. Seriously, pull my finger!"
--John Lennon
Reading the article I am understanding that people are afraid of the truth. They want something without judgement. They want a mishmash of various religions and make their own, spirituality being one of them.
It is hollow and will eventually prove itself as such, especially if the adherant pursues his 'spiritual' journey down a scholarly or theological path.
Very similar to what G.K. Chesterton did. His orthodoxy was surprisingly the Catechism of the Roman Catholic Church, which he converted to after much more study.
Ironically, John Lennon was reportegly a HUGE Billy Graham fan. He would watch him on television as often as possible and was known to quietly tell himself, "amen brother", "Jesus is the answer", and "thank you Jesus". All of which Yoko Ono would chime in as well. Unfortunately hardly any of this is spoken in the media.
Tito,
You wrote:
"It is hollow and will eventually prove itself as such, especially if the adherant pursues his 'spiritual' journey down a scholarly or theological path."
Are you implying that a spiritual journey is fruitless through the intellect? If so, I fundamentally disagree. When Jesus rebuked Peter, he said, "You do not think the way God thinks." Jesus wants to change our minds--our intellect--and many hearts and souls have been won through convincing arguments. I would agree that the acceptance/non-acceptance of Christianity is a moral issue and not an intellectual one, but that doesn't mean that ministry of the intellect is "hollow" by any regards. We are told to love God with our hearts, soul, mind and strength. That is our passion, intellect, and physical capacity.
I appreciate your thoughts!
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