God works on the seeker; John Wesley called it prevenient
grace. The seeker will say things like, “There has to be more to life than
this.” The most overheard phrase is,
“There are lots of way to God.”
The next big question from the Christian perspective is who is Jesus ?
They need to hear the message of Jesus in John 3:5-7:
Jesus answered, “I tell you the truth, no one can enter the kingdom of
God unless he is born of water and the Spirit.
Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit. You should not be surprised at my saying,
‘You must be born again.’”
Bridging the gap between Sunday and
Monday--between what we say or profess and what we actually do--is a vital
journey toward authentic living.
Yet, becoming more authentic is not
so much about trying harder as it is about letting go--more about ALLOWING
things to happen rather than MAKING them happen. But that sounds much too
simple in our performance-oriented culture, where success in anything seems to
be a product of enormous effort and well-defined goals.
We are going to discuss barriers to
change in our lives spiritually. Yet, the issue of change is in the air. For
example, we are learning that many churches that have a long history developed
an understanding of itself and ministry in a time when the culture was
congenial to the church. Today, about 60% of our friends and neighbors do not
have a favorable opinion of the church. It might mean the church will need to
consider some changes in light of such a changed reality. Those of us who love
Jesus might need to make some adjustments in how we develop relationships with
people outside the church. Yet, that can scare us. It might cause us to change.
Yet, will such change come because
we try harder?
In the New
Testament, Jesus hinted at the difficulty in controlling or defining the
process of spiritual growth. Jesus talked much about the kingdom of God or the
kingdom of heaven. One might think he would have come up with a nice, succinct
definition of it. Instead, he told stories that we call parables. He offered
some puzzling and thought-provoking statements. Therefore, "the Kingdom is
LIKE... the lost coin, the pearl of great price, the treasure hidden in the
field," etc. He told stories in an effort to explain the unexplainable. Such
stories remind us that living within the kingdom calls us to a life different
from the values and beliefs of the culture. In the realm of personal spiritual
growth, we make little progress by setting goals and seeking to achieve
spiritual benchmarks. Scripture tells us that in the Kingdom the "last
shall be first," that strength is to be found in weakness, that those who
show up at 5 p.m. will get the same rewards as those who toil all day under the
broiling sun!
In other words, if we try to grow
spiritually using the measuring stick of success in our culture, we will
experience repeated frustration. We will try to make it happen by trying
harder. Clearly, there must be a different set of standards and methods for the
realm of the spirit--those of allowing and participating in God's flow in our
lives. Even so, we have a tendency to take the values of "the American
Way" (though they work well in constructing a civilized society) and
superimpose them on spiritual work. We end up trying to "fix" our
moral behavior instead of entering into real transformation from the inside
out-- rather like putting a Band-Aid on something that needs surgery!
In order to enter into deep
spiritual transformation, we must be open to new ways of thinking. That can be
a frightening and disturbing proposition, and we can engage in all types of
addictive behavior to protect us from CHANGE. We keep busy, buy more stuff,
take fancier trips, get a younger spouse, fill our spiritual lives with
projects instead of prayer. Even good works can sometimes stand in the way of
spiritual transformation--the good is often the enemy of the best.
There is a simple little story that
illustrates the beginning of the process of honest spiritual deepening... as
if, following the pattern of Jesus, we are saying, the process is LIKE--
Once Upon a Puddle
This is the story about some fish who
lived in a very small puddle of water. Hear their conversation:
"Give me that waterbug!"
"No, I saw him first!"
"Get your fins off my supper! He's mine I
tell you!"
And so, every day, the little fish
spent their time competing for waterbugs. Their stagnant puddle was cradled
between the roots of an ancient oak tree, just beside a flowing river.
But one morning, there was a sudden
SPLASH!
An amazing, brightly colored fish had
jumped into the riverside puddle... a fish with golden scales. And --what was
most unusual in this particular puddle--he was smiling!
One of the puddle-fishes asked,
"Where do you come from?"
The Sparkling Fish smiled brightly,
"I come from the SEA!"
"The sea! What is the sea?"
The Sparkling Fish was surprised:
"No one has ever told you about the sea? Why the sea...the sea is what
fish are made for. It isn't like this little puddle; it's endless. A fish
needn't swim in circles all day...he can dance with the tides! And it's
sparkling clear! The sea is what fish are made for!"
Then a pale, gray puddle-fish spoke up:
" But, how do we get to the sea?
The Sparkling Fish answered: "It's
a simple matter. You jump from this little puddle into that river and trust
that the current will take you to the sea."
Astonishment clouded the puddle-water.
At long last a brave little fish swam forward with a hard, experienced look in
his eye. He was a Realist Fish.
He said: "It's pleasant to talk
about this 'sea business,' but --if you ask me-- we have to face reality. And
what is reality? Obviously, it's day-to-day life--swimming in circles and
hunting for waterbugs, Life is hard, It takes a Realist Fish to face
facts."
The Sparkling Fish smiled. "But
you don't understand...I've BEEN there. I've SEEN the sea. It's far more
wonderful than you can..." But before he could finish speaking, the
Realist Fish swam away.
Next, a fish came up with a nervous
twitch in his tail. He was a Scared Fish. He stammered, "You mean, we're
suppose to j-jump into that big, swift river over there?"
"Yes. For a fish who wants to go
to the sea, the way lies through that river."
The Scared Fish's voice trembled in
terror..."Look, I'm just an ordinary fish! That river is deep and strong
and wide, and I don't know where it goes. Why I might be swept away by the
current. If I jumped out of my puddle, I wouldn't have any control over my
life. NO! It's too risky for me!"
The Sparkling Fish whispered,
"Just trust ME. Trust that the river will take you some place
GOOD..." But before he could finish, the Scared Fish hurried away.
Finally there swam out a very dignified
figure in a black robe. He was a Theologian Fish. Calmly, he adjusted his
spectacles, saying: "My brother and sister fishes, our distinguished
visitor has expressed many views which merit our consideration. However, these
puddle-fishes have expressed OTHER views. By all means, let us be reasonable.
We can work this out... Why not form a discussion group? We could meet every
Tuesday at 7 o'clock, and I'm sure some of the lady fishes would be happy to
bring some refreshments."
The eyes of the Sparkling Fish grew
sad.... "No, this will never do," he said. "Talking is
important, but in the end --it is a simple matter. You JUMP. You jump out of
this puddle and trust that the river will take you to the sea. Who will come and
follow me?"
At first no one moved, But then a few
puddle-fishes swam to his side. Together they jumped into the river and the
current swept then away to the sea.
The remaining puddle-fishes began to
swim in circles and hunt for waterbugs just like they always had.
Discussion of Change in the form of letting go
Change has been part of my life. Around 20
years ago I was in some counselling on some matters, and the counsellor said I
was a delight. When I asked why, he said that it may take a while, but you will
ponder things we discuss, and once you have the insight you need, you run with
it and make the changes you need to make. I suppose I always have operated that
way. The church was an important part of my life from about the age of ten,
showing a way for me to live different from what I was then learning at home. I
knew I needed something else in my life, and it seemed like church and its
connection to Christ was what I needed. Thus, I do not fear change. Sometimes,
"jumping" seems to be such an enticing and courageous idea. Yet, I
still might not jump. I suspect you have trouble jumping as well. WHY don't we
do it? Our excuses are familiar:
•We don't have enough time. (Truth: We
always make time for the things we value. Do we ever miss a MEAL? Our spiritual
food is more important than physical food!)
•We don't know HOW. (Truth: There is a
plethora of meaningful literature regarding the spiritual journey--our
bookshelves are probably lined with suggestions, but we would prefer to read
about the journey rather than TAKE it!)
• We don't want to disturb our
relationships by changing into someone "strange" or super-religious.
(Truth: becoming spiritually authentic involves growing into who we really
are---our uniquely created selves---rather than changing into a spiritual clone
of someone else. We become our true Selves!)
•We want to KNOW where spiritual growth
might take us. (Truth: We say we want the abundant life, but we want to define
that abundance according to what we think we want. . . Like the timid
puddle-fishes, we don't trust God to direct our life into something
"better than we can ask or imagine.." Ephesians 3:20 Real trust
involves befriending uncertainty.)
Conclusion
If we decide to take a chance--to
allow God an opportunity to work with us--we're likely to sense the need to
enter into spiritual disciplines (I
sense resistance already!). Rather than think of these practices as boring and
insipid, it is helpful to picture our spiritual lives as a huge house
surrounded by Light. As we open the "windows" of spiritual
disciplines, we let the Light of God in. We don't have to open all the windows
at once; we can choose those practices that seem natural to us, that
"call" to us, that sound interesting.
The traditional disciplines include worship, Bible study, spiritual
reading, fasting, the daily examen, journaling, hospitality, service, and--most
of all--prayer. Even gratitude and frustration can be windows to God, if
approached as sacred practices. We will review specific avenues of
spiritual practice that give God a chance to work with us toward authenticity
and transformation. But first, like the brave little puddle-fishes, we must
jump with sincere trust, being willing to flow with the Divine current of God's
process in, through, and for us.
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