"Trips like ours are greener grass left unknown for fear of believing trite sayings; sayings that are sometimes true. But our friends back home live an existence under the weight and awareness of time; a place we are slowly escaping; a world growing fainter by the hour and the mile." - Donald Miller (extract from, Through Painted Deserts).
Why a narrow view of devotional life may not meet all our spiritual needs.
Picking up from the last article we'll continue to explore the topic of spirtuality, this time unpacking why a narrow mindset of devotions and spirituality can hinder our lives.
There is nothing wrong with the desire to build good devotional habits into the lives of young believers. Regular bible study, regular prayer and a disciplined approach to a relationship with Christ are all commendable and necessary. John 15:1-4 is as important today as ever. However when reading two different translations of the same passge we notice some differences. One (kjv) uses the very old-fashioned term "abide in me" which people simply don't use today.
Times have changed, imagery has changed, the way we live daily life has changed. Central biblical truths have not changed but the way we set them in our current context is different-and different for different people, circumstances and cultures.
For example,
- If our devotional literature uses mainly rural images and we live in a strongly urban environment, it is hard to make the connections.
- If the language used is not our language, it means we have an extra step in the process of understanding.
- If the content focuses on explaining background in the Bible times without linking the principles with current issues, then I'm left without help for the issues I face.
That which we use as an aid for our spiritual understanding must:
- capture my attention
- deal with my realities
- bring scripture to life for me
- contribute in a systematic and progressive way to my spiritual stature
- speak in language and pictures I can understand and identify.
Now that sounds like a lot to ask. What do you think of these demands?
If you use some form of devotional material, how does it rate by these measures?
And consider in passing two other simple questions:
Do I understand the content of my devotional reading?
Here's a qoute from someone who's been there and back, "Many people surprisingly have what I call the 'dose of medicine' view of spirituality. When we thake medicine prescribed by a doctor for an illness, it doesn't matter that the formula of the medicine is a mystery to us. It doesn't even matter that we can't pronounce what we're taking. What matters is that we take it!
"Sometimes people get thouroughly confused and think the important thing about 'daily devotions' is simply that they 'do it.'
" 'Understanding isn't part of the deal. I have taken my medicine for the day, God has ticked it off in my record in the sky so it will all be OK!'
"Now my apologies if this iis pushing the picture too far but there is enough reality there to be warning to some at least."
Does it work for me, with the personality I have?
Here is something we will come back to but it is considerably more important than most of us realise.
in some way even to raise these issues feels like trampling over sacred ground. Is it not destructive to analyse or criticise the way a person goes about the devotional life?
However the aim of this article is not pull down but to force us to ask if we have the very best spiritual resources available for facing the real world on Monday.
Please do comment on the articles as a big part of this project relies on feedback. And thats just another confession from me a Jesus Freak...
-AndyC.
