Tuesday, May 27, 2008

A God-intoxicated Life

Thomas Kelly in his spiritual inner-life classic, "A Testament of Devotion" shares about his journey into a "God-intoxicated life." Through much personal struggle in life's crucible of failure and pain, he came to the experience of "arising to gently float in the grace of God with a simple childlike obedience and trust."

Richard Foster writes about Kelly's heartache and pain relating to two major life experiences. The first was his failure of the oral examination to complete the Ph.D at Harvard. Kelly was rejected for the Ph.D with no opportunity of reconsideration. He had pursued this second doctorate at great personal cost, both financially and physically (he had previously earned a Ph.D in philosophy from Hartford Theological Seminary).

The second experience came in the summer of 1938 when Kelly went to Hitler's Germany. Sharing in the suffering of the German people immeasurably deepened his heart. He reported that during this experience he had been "literally melted down by the love of God."

Later he told several close students of a particular experience in the great cathedral at Cologne where, on his knees, he seemed to feel God laying upon his heart the whole congealed suffering of humanity--a burden too terrible to be borne--andyet somehow bearable with God's help.

These two experiences brought enormous power to Kelly's writing in the final years of his life.

His pursuit of the "God-intoxicated life" led him to venturing into the inner sanctuary of the soul, where God meets each individual in a profoundly intimate way. He called this a journey to "Love at the center." He wrote: "In awful solemnity the Holy One is over all and in all, exquisitely loving, infinitely patient, tenderly smiling. Marks of glory are upon all things, and the marks are cruciform and blood-stained. And one sighs, like the convinced Thomas of old, 'My Lord and my God' (John 20:28)."

He equated this inner encounter with God with Paul's experience when he wrote, "The life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God" (Galatians 2:20).

The next step Kelly took was a conscious emptying of self into God, and receiving God's in-filling. "In glad, amazed humility we cast on Him our little lives in trusting obedience, in erect, serene, and smiling joy. And we say, with the writer of Psalms, 'Lo, I come: in the book of the law it is written of me, I delight to do thy will, O my God' (40:7-8)." Our attitude becomes one of being ready to run and not be weary and to walk and not faint.

Kelly observed that "The Hound of Heaven is on our track, the God of Love is wooing us to His Holy life." He discovered that holy obedience is beginning where we presently are. Obeying now. "Use what little obedience you are capable of, even if it be like a grain of mustard seed." Begin where you are--live this present moment in utter submission and openness toward God.

I enjoy Kelly's practical suggestion in learning holy obedience: "Don't grit your teeth and clench your fists and say, 'I will! I will!' Relax. Take hands off. Submit yourself to God."

May our experiences of personal failure, brokenness and struggle be useful fodder for spiritual growth in an empowered, intimate, peaceful submission to God. The spiritual gift of holy obedience--childlike obedience and trust--will bring deep beauty and satisfaction to life during our earthly pilgrimage. Here's to living a "God-intoxicated life!"

Blessings and love,

Duff

Monday, May 19, 2008

Conversion: A gift and an achievement

E. Stanley Jones (1884-1973) devoted his entire life to the subject of conversion. He pointed out that there is a delicate balance between the activity of God and the response of God's children in the establishment and cultivation of conversion.

Conversion is the act of a moment and the work of a lifetime! It is a process of receptivity and response. Jones wrote: "You cannot attain salvation by disciplines--it is the gift of God. But you cannot retain it without disciplines." It is impossible to discipline an unsurrendered self, but when our self is surrendered to God and a new center formed, then we can discipline our life around that new center--Christ. Discipline is the fruit of conversion, not the root.

St. Paul noted (Col. 2:6-7): "As therefore you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so live in him, rooted and built up in him and established in the faith." The "rooted" means we are receptive and take from God as the roots take from the soil. The "built up" suggests we build as one builds a house--we form a character and life by wise planning and difficult effort.

To use a cliche, we trust as if the whole thing depended on God and work as if the whole thing depended on us! These are the alternate beats--the rhythm--of the converted Christian heart; receptivity and response--receptivity from God and response in work from us.

We can see in Christ's life some basic habits (disciplines) that helped to keep his journey vital and fresh:

1. "He stood up to read as was his custom"--he read the Word of God by habit, and in the context of the faith community (synagogue).

2. "He went out into the mountain to pray as was his custom"--he prayed by habit and entered into the context of solitude.

3. "He taught them again as was his custom"--he actively exercised his spiritual gift(s) and shared with others, for their spiritual benefit, what he had discovered for himself.

These simple disciplines were the foundation habits of Christ's life. They are as up-to-date as tomorrow morning. Those of us who are experiencing God's gift of conversion would do well to learn and live with these habits that keep our spiritual life vital and fresh!

May the vibrant experience of conversion keep God's fire burning in our hearts!

Your friend,

Duff