biblical theo(b)logy

Calvin on the mystery of the Lords Supper http://amzn.com/k/256GQYETT9D6Z #Kindle

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http://amzn.com/k/2IKCXN8XBX3HA #Kindle

Spiritual Fad Diet

my latest gracenote

Fad diets always seem to catch my eye. The promise of a few extra pounds lost with a simple “trick,” “rule,” or “special foods” that will propel additional weight loss. Unfortunately, it never seems to work more than a couple initial days; raw food was meant to be prepared, cooked, garnished, and eaten, not merely assimilated into a unpalatable lifestyle. However, it isn’t just weight management that we turn to fad diets, we often to this with spirituality as well.

We trade the discipline, longevity, and vitality of a relationship for a few simple “fixes” that promise to bring about a “spiritual” experience, “deeper insight,” or “a better perspective.” We think if I just learn the right prayer, if I just make a list of blessings, if I just listen to the right music, if I read the right book, or if I have the right theology, then God will be more present and more real. Or worse, we think we will become better people or I can conjure up an ecstatic moment of spirituality. 

But I can’t think of a single relationship where trading deep and intimate for quick and artificial will cultivate anything but boredom. It leaves the relationship casual at best, fake at worst, and misses the main point of it. Continued time, commitment, and perseverance is what propels and deepens relationship. And this is the case in our relationship with God. I believe it is much more simple, and less sexy, than we usually want it to be. Eugene Peterson says that contemporary spiritually desperately needs focus, precision, and roots: focus on Christ, precision in the Scriptures, and roots in a healthy tradition. This is the orientation we need. 

First, we see in Revelation 2, that the Ephesian church had all their theological ducks in a row, but lacked focus on their first love. They needed to focus on loving Christ. This needs to be our first love and focus. If the object of our affection is a personal, loving savior, our spirituality will reflect that. Secondly, we need to cling to the Scriptures. If we truly believe that every word inScripture is God-breathed (2 Tim 3.16), then we already have direct access to what God wants us to know concerning how to cultivate a deep spirituality. The Westminster Confession of Faith states ”all things necessary for God’s own glory, man’s salvation, faith and life, is either expressly set down in Scripture, or by good and necessary consequence may be deduced from Scripture” (WCF 1.6). Scripture is our ultimate standard. And finally, we are part of a rich tradition of theological and can bypass the spiritual narcissism that feels the need to reinvent the spiritual wheel. We know that in our heritage it is full of the sinners and saints that have kept focused on Christ, and grounded in Scripture and they encourage us to learn from their mistakes, carry on their work, and press on to maturity. It is in a committed, focused, precise, and rooted spirituality where sinners, like me, need to be directed. Especially when I know I am easily swayed into a fad diet of sainthood, which delivers none of those things it promises (including low sodium). 

The book of Acts summarized http://amzn.com/k/39TNMUEVT50HT #Kindle