instant spirituality

In talking with a friend recently, we were discussing the notion of knowledge and how the Body views it.

Knowledge of Scripture, of God's nature, of God, etc. is generally heralded by the Body as being able to make us wrinkleless follower of Jesus. My friend's opinion is the quest for consummate Christian knowledge is for the purpose of having every single thing about God figured out.

My friend despises this particular view of knowledge. I likewise dislike it, for a related but different reason than he.

This is one of many societal untruths which has been adapted by American Christiandom.

This sounds weird so far, but bear with me.

In society, knowledge is a golden calf.

In terms of education, get a degree and you're on your way. Get an education and you'll be ahead of the curve. You'll have more options, more to offer the world, more success, blah blah blah.

In terms of living in the States, knowledge is heralded so you can make an "informed decision". Because if you are making informed decisions then you are fulfilling your duty and calling as an American citizen.

News stations spend boo-koos on advertisements to brag "get the news first here", "stay informed, watch us", "awarded as the best news source in the area", "because you need to know", etc.

How many organizations say "We just want to get the word out to people, because education and awareness are the key to..." (solving a problem, drumming support for x, garnering interest for y, helping the community or world with z, fill in the blank here).

This is such a naive and flawed perception of information and knowledge it makes my head spin. This whole idea that simply presenting or garnering information about something is going to cause me to embrace it, support it or live it.

And yet American media and mainstream culture think that this is the way knowledge, information, persuasion, adherence, belief, action and support all intertwine together.

The Body has embraced this same idea within itself, that knowledge in and of itself is the kingpin to growth, spirituality, gifting, being a solid Follower, etc.

My friend and I reject this obsession with knowledge for different reasons.

My friend holds to the idea that the richest of God's riches lie in the mysteries which He keeps unexplainable and above mankind's ability to figure out.

Some will say "well, don't we want to know more about God? Why wouldn't we want to understand Him better, and know more of His ways?"

Here's beautifully how my friend speaks to that:

"As we march toward the absurdity of having complete knowledge of 'how', we allow for fewer and fewer mysteries. Which also means, less wonder and imagination is required to get by.

In a word, less faith. The Spirit and our spirit are lost in the fray. Working, but forgotten.

The less we look at, the more we see. I choose not to know. I choose not to choose. I choose the unknown. I run from understanding. I embrace mystery.

Simply put, I wonder.

Dead is explanation. Alive is story."

When he and I discussed this, it refreshed me. Namely because I am a detailed person and a planner type. I relish getting as much detail from God as He'll give about things I am going through.

But God shows Himself over and over again to be as my friend describes.

God does give me tidbits about what I'm facing, but if He told me everything about what I'm going through there would be no need for faith.

I love this about God. Sometimes He gives a few specifics and sometimes He gives generalities. Sometimes He waits to answer and sometimes He is silent.

I'm thinking right now of Philip in Acts 8. An angel appeared to Philip and said "Go on the road toward Gaza". That's all he was told, and he went.

Then, the Holy Spirit said "Go stand by that chariot and stay there", and Philip did. The rest of the chapter is a great story with the Holy Spirit doing something powerful and amazing.

And this is where I find myself in life right now. I have some very intense things going on, and yet I'm not given a play by play preview by God.

He gives me strong assurances about these things, but only in a general way. There is a ton about what I'm facing that He has not revealed. And He won't.

Is He a mean or unresponsive God because of this?

Well, if you don't think faith is a worthwhile thing to have you could say that.

And here comes more brutal honesty.

Just in the last couple of days, even with God's assurances, I have begun to have great doubts about the approach in which I've been facing these storms for the past multiple months.

The approach I have embraced is putting me in position for what appears to be a horrific ass-whipping in earthly terms. It has just struck me in the past couple of days how dooming my approach to this storm in life could appear (in earthly terms) if I continue as I am.

So here I am clinging to God, yet surrounded in life by swirls of continuous pain mixed with a fresh heaps of doubt and confusion.

I'm in perfect position for a spiritual disaster, aren't I? My faith and belief are in prime position to be body slammed.

What should I do?

Demand of God that He give me more information about the outcome of what I'm facing?

Hit my knees and say "God, I'm not moving til You give me an answer"?

You know, I could do that, and some Followers would suggest this is what I should do. After all, this is my faith and my life in God that is on the line here.

With something so critical, uncertain and potentially disastrous being faced, surely God would have more to reveal than simply a generic assurance to my spirit saying "I know what's going on. I am over this".

Don't think I haven't tried. I go to Him frequently about this, asking "What shall I do about this? Am I missing You in this? Should I do x instead of y? Should my approach be a instead of b? Is there nothing else I should be doing? What about what I am doing? Don't You have some critique or guidance or next-step word for me?"

It's crazy. I bug the hell out of Him about it. I'm a detailed person. Anal, for sure.

You know what? He just smiles at me, shaking His head when I'm like this as He just simply states that smoothing generic assurance.

It's just like a child. They come freaking out or crying about something to you, and your stability brings them back down. Nothing's going to get them. You're right there. Something might have spooked them, or even bitten them, but things are alright. They're seeing things out of proportion, and you bring them back around.

It's the same thing with God and our kneejerking about life.

Think how awesome it is when something happens to your child and they show trust in you without your having to calm them down. When they live with confidence in you without having to be assured, this is beautiful.

When we do this, friends, this warm God's heart.

He understands we spaz out sometimes, and when we do He is right there, assuring.

But when we walk in faith, when we don't freak out amidst getting hurt or being bitten by life, when we trust Him despite what's going on, when we don't demand answers or instant fixing of something and simply walk in trust, whew...God gets goose bumps.

It's such a simple truth. It's exactly what my friend embraces. He doesn't want every answer, doesn't want everything spelled out. Or better said, we don't need everything spelled out.

When we embrace faith, we give God the freedom to be mysterious.

He doesn't have to spend such great amounts of time assuring us. He has the freedom to tell us a little or even tell us nothing. Our faith, our belief, our clinging to Him doesn't go anywhere, it's not in jeopardy, when we live faith.

We don't have to pound His door for answers, for knowledge.

God gets to be God instead of a continuous question answerer, information provider and situation explainer.

I embrace my friend's embracing of God's mysteriousness.

When doubt and turmoil swirl in my life, this is the fertile breeding ground for faith.

Not what the Prosperity movement teaches, is it?

This storm, this hell draws me closer to God. It does not put me on the brink of extinction. Especially when God is silent or vague.

This is one way He spurns me to draw closer to Him.

What a great God. He knows exactly what He's doing.



My distaste for the obsession with knowledge is slightly different from my friend's. My distaste has more to do with the notion that we, the Body, think we can actually put God in a box.

It bothers me for us to say "follow these 5 steps and you'll be Christian x", or "follow these 8 principles and you will attain Christian y".

This cheapens God.

It makes Him look so small, and He is so much more than not only what we explain Him to be but also so much more than we imagine Him to be.

It makes God look so explainable. It makes Him look formulaic and predictable. It portrays Him to be as definable as a business principle.

It makes God out to be boring.

Don't get me wrong, I used to embrace this teaching. I loved the organization, I loved the bullet points. And I'm not saying people don't learn more about the Lord through teaching such as this.

I'm just saying God is more.

And, I have a growing distaste for taking societal ways, societal ideas and blindly (or purposefully) applying them to the Way.

Just before starting this post, I went to the web and did a search for "4 keys to Christian", "5 keys to Christian" and "8 keys to Christian".

The hits that came back from that search were staggering. Did you know that successful Christian living, Christian worship, building a small group, effective spiritual growth, mission success, etc. is just a snap away?

It's like what's good for the goose is good for the gander.

There'd be no objection to this if there weren't some really rotten fruit showing itself by patterning the Kingdom after society.

Another sad thing is the attempt to reduce a relationship with God to a quantified, robotic set of steps.

Intercoursing with Him is so much deeper and more personal than this. And yet Christiandom is widely teaching that we can have instant spirituality and instant intimacy with God if we just do a, b, c.

To those of you who hear God, does He ever give you a 4-, 5- or 8-step solution to your prayers?

Does God counsel you like that? Does He say to you, "My child, I want you to do these eight things about situation x"?

Not saying He doesn't, can't or wouldn't, cause I don't want to put Him in a box either, this just seems like a mechanized, programmed approach to a relationship (or to life).

Just curious.

To me this is a 21st century form of lifeless religious ritual, to treat a relationship with God as a formula.

That's not the Jesus and Father I know.