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Christianity Today, February (Web-only), 2009 |

SOULWORK

'God Only'

Giving up soul care for Lent.

Mark Galli | posted 2/26/2009 10:21AM

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No question that we need to engage in the disciplines and explore our motives — that's one way we prepare ourselves to see and hear God, and to love him more deeply. But you don't have to have a Ph.D. in spiritual direction to realize that these activities easily devolve into a religious narcissism that constantly wonders, Am I spiritual yet?

News flash: Nobody cares if we are "spiritual." Not even God.

In The Brazos Introduction to Christian Spirituality, author Evan Howard sums up the nature of the discipline succinctly: "The question we ask in this book is, simply, 'What does a relationship with God look like for Christians?' "

That's the difference between healthy and neurotic spirituality: What is our first love? Who is our first love? While we are rightly concerned about losing our devotion to Christ because of some "worldly attraction," usually the temptation lies within. The question is not, "Am I spiritual yet?" and not even, "Do I love God?" (for this question in the end is about our love). The question is not a question but a focus: God.

There is a reason Jesus said the greatest commandment is to love God. It's not to care for your soul. It's not to practice spirituality. It's not to transform the world or change culture or evangelize the world. All of these things have their place. But the greatest command is to love God.

The little-known 19th-century French nun Lucie Christine described a moment that crystallizes the point of all soul care and spirituality:

Suddenly, I saw before my inward eyes these words — God only … they were at the same time a Light, an Attraction, and a Power. A Light which showed me how I could belong completely to God alone in this world, and I saw that hitherto I had not well understood this; an Attraction by which my heart was subdued and delighted; a Power which inspired me with a generous resolution and somehow placed in my hands the means of carrying it out.

A light, an attraction, and a power unparalleled — God only. So if you are as tempted as I constantly am to take the measure of your soul, you may want to consider abandoning soul care for 40 days, and give your whole attention to the only One worth our obsessive devotion.

Mark Galli is senior managing editor of Christianity Today. This column is cross-posted on his blog, where he interacts with comments.

Related Elsewhere:

Previous SoulWork columns are available on our site.

See also Christianity Today's special section on Lent.

Galli's latest book, A Great and Terrible Love: A Spiritual Journey into the Attributes of God, will be released March 1.

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revcarla

Posted: February 28, 2009 8:28 AM

Mr. Galli, Would that every follower of Jesus have your background and insight but many do not and still muddle through feeling guilty when they should be at peace and anxious when they shoud rest in the Lord. For these and those who love the Lord in silence and contemplation, the Spiritual Disciplines and the Lenten activites which support them remain a sane and heathy way to honor our Lord during the Easter season. For many others, God and the "self" are often closer that they /we realize. Let's not throw the baby out with the bathwater. Losing the traditon and the values of Lenten sacrifice may also degenerate into a sort of post-modern antinomianism when "nothing after all really matters because we are already saved." If we preach sermonettes we will get Christianettes! I hear your concern but we have far too many ignorant Christians now about their history and doctrine and practice. Let us prepare them well for the Lord who is coming again.

Dale W

Posted: February 27, 2009 11:13 AM


Loved the article with a big "but". It seems to me all souls are not created equal. Child hood wounds, spiritual abuse and etc. destroy or limit our capacity to do as you say. Work on our wounded souls to be able to even trust or love or make God the object of our attention and focus of our lives is necessary. Thanks for the great article. Keep thinking--keep sharing it with us.

Seek the bridegroom in your fast for lent

Posted: February 27, 2009 8:50 AM

eating meat and having pleasure distracts us from God. So if we limit our pleasures and cravings for meat and focus instead on God (be easier to do it if we do not constantly think of ourselves and our desires) then we will be doing what Mr Galli suggests. But on the other hand, by not being as focused on bodily needs and desires and by focusing on God who is Spirit, we will indeed be being more "spiritual". So we do need in that sense to become more spiritual and less focused on bodily desires. Until we find Jesus and unite with Him, then when we have the bridegroom with us we can stop fasting.

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