WELL-INFORMED
If from our lives there hails a hallelujah, or we are found in despair looking through the lens of lamentation, by now, we know that the manner in which we handle these respectively, is greatly influenced by what it is we believe about God, and ourselves. A simpler way of painting that picture is to ask the question: how do you handle your victories and losses? Perhaps the question is better answered by someone you can trust to speak the truth in love. To note, I am not suggesting that if you are in a season of lament, that you are losing. By no means. But for the sake of explanation, I offer for your consideration–we would do well in learning how to win and lose with honor. No one enjoys the loser that takes no responsibility, casts blame to all other team members, and elevates themselves above all others while throwing a tantrum. And neither do we enjoy the arrogant winner that flaunts his victory, and pompously parades around as if our entire existence depended on the victory. A loved son or daughter knows that their victory, or loss, will not jeopardize their place in the home and so, are able to celebrate their victories well, and acknowledge their losses with honor. No victory comes with the reward of more love from the Father. Conversely, no loss has the power to move you out from under His umbrella of love. We are safe!
“But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ–by grace you have been saved–and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.” (Ephesians 2:4-7)
With whatever it is that you put your hands to, who is it that is doing the works? Is it the insecure, lost soul wandering around in spiritual orphanhood, striving to climb his or her way up and into the heavenly place of belonging? Or is it the loved son or daughter that knows there can be no result that would possibly sway the love that the Father has for them because, it was by grace that they have been given life, raised up, and seated in their divine place of belonging? With an identity built upon the rock, it makes possible to hail the hallelujah, or to cry the honest lament, without being swept up and away by either of the two. Loved sons and daughters, with a deep conviction of their divine place of belonging, are not swayed by the accusations of the deceiver that constantly try to disjoint them in the communities to which they belong. I am of the persuasion that it is crucial to pay attention to this because we do life within the context of community, and how we carry ourselves and relate to each other within it makes a difference to the overall health of the community.
“Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love.” (Ephesians 4:15-16)
At this juncture, I must confess that the thoughts that follow have been difficult to offer out loud. I describe spirituality as the aspect of humanity that refers to how we as individuals seek and express meaning and purpose, and our ability to factor these aspects into our lives with others. With that, it is the way we experience our connectedness to the moment, to self, to others, to nature and to the significant or sacred. Might we hazard to say it is the very difference between life and death this side of the grave, because it has the ability to nudge us toward the latter in the worst way if it is unwell. It is what gives us the means to find meaning and purpose, and certainly then, curates the way we express what we believe inwardly, in an appropriate manner, outwardly. This is more often than not done within the context of behaviours, values, rules for conduct, perhaps rituals that are associated with religious tradition or even denomination. So, the question is, how would you diagnose your spirituality – to answer broadly, is it well, or unwell? More importantly, what is funding your spirituality? Is it the orphan spirit, or has the spirit of adoption been given the space to pursued you that you are undeniably a loved son or daughter and as a result, you carry within you an inner set of beliefs that have not been debauched by insecurity?
But what about religion? What role does religion play with regards our inner set of beliefs that I believe seek, because they need, an appropriate outward expression in line with our God-given desires of the heart? Is what we are doing lining up with what it is that we believe? Here in North America, it seems to me the word religion is as good as a swear word. Particularly in the church. It has become the popular narrative to hold one fist up to religion and in the other, flying the flag of “relationship” yet still beckoning a person to join their services on a Sunday. And if they are more the progressive type, they may say something to the likes of, “The church is not a building, people are the church”, and then encourage you to maintain some kind of community, centered around what it is that you and your community believe, and practice it. That is in basic terms, the very definition of religion. Do they not mean the religious spirit? When looking into it, yes. What some have meant is that they hold no place for the religious spirit. Sadly, there are many that have turned their backs on religion simply because they don’t understand the difference between the two. It is as a result of oppressive and controlling expressions of religion funded by the orphan spirit, that there has been a deep hurt, and finally, a resentment toward any kind of religion, and anyone that makes any such claim about being a part of it must be a tyrant. And it is typically at this point that a person might walk away and say something like, “I’m not into religion, I’m spiritual.” The problem with this is we need it. We orient our lives to that which we believe, and a healthy expression of religion that is congruent with these beliefs gives us a necessary balance, a sense of purpose, and at least the opportunity to connect with others that believe the same thing.
An applaudable rebuttal might be that Jesus never came to install religion. I agree. Leonard Ravenhill said this, “Jesus did not come into the world to make bad men good. He came into the world to make dead men live!” But once living, we seek to connect with others and practice what it is that we believe collectively. Worshiping together. Praying together. Baptism. Sermon. Fasting and feasting. Communion!
“And he took bread, and when he had giventhanks, he broke it and gave it to them, saying, ‘This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.’” (Luke 22:19)
With ritual, Jesus encouraged us to remember Him. Perhaps Jesus’ point was not religion, but healthy living in union with Him. But when we unpack what healthy living looks like, particularly through the lens of Christ, it seems to me to be healthy connection with Him and others. And a healthy expression of what it is that we believe tends to serve those relationships in a deep and rich way. So I offer a thought–instead of turning our nose up to religion too quickly, might we ask the same questions we did with regards to our spirituality; how would you diagnose the connection between the means you have to express your inner beliefs, to what it is you believe? To answer broadly, is it well, or unwell? But more importantly, what informs this relationship? Is it the orphan spirit, or has the spirit of adoption been given the space to pursued you that you are undeniably a loved son or daughter and as a result, you carry within you an inner set of beliefs that have not been debauched by insecurity, and now with it, a community of like-minded folk who practice with you what it is you believe? To say it differently, a well-informed religion that is being facilitated by a loved son or daughter, does not bring with it a heavy-handed, works based effort to find love from the Father, it brings with it a space to practice what it is that we believe, and a chance to express a love that is already ours, collectively, to God and each other. Both our religion and our spirituality integrate us as people into this experience we know as being alive. But without a solid spiritual foundation sustained best in a healthy community, which often includes some kind of religious expression that is congruent (hopefully) with what the community believes, even our best- intentioned endeavors of living well, will be found under attack by the lies and self-appointed powers of deception that the orphan spirit offers. When our spirituality and the means to express it are unwell, we are susceptible to being disconnected and potentially led to being isolated from one another.
There is a temporal relief, and a sort of bliss, that comes from being disconnected from oneself and others when we are constantly battling the dark chaos within. This darkness is also known otherwise as “spiritual bankruptcy.” A phrase apparently well-known amongst the recovery communities around the world. I prefer the term spiritual orphanhood. In this darkness, what pulls us out into the light is love. A love that has us daring to believe that we are in fact not alone, capable of being loved and loving others, accepted, even as we are, and that our broken hearts have this strange ability to lead us into blessing. This love convinces us that we are sons and daughters of the Most-High and that we have a divine place of belonging.
“The Lord is near to the broken-hearted and saves the crushed in spirit.” (Psalm 34:18)
This is uncharted territory for so many, but it offers help by producing a further few questions–have you been deceived into believing something about God and yourself that has led you down a hopeless road of despair and isolation?
Has the orphan spirit challenged your divine place of belonging and convinced you, falsely, of your worthlessness? What have you subscribed to that does not lineup with the heart of a loving Father and His thoughts about you, His child? I have observed that in the process of facing our fears, it is helpful to be reminded of our belonging and acceptance. It helps guide us to find a treasure so precious that stirs in us a deep joy even in the suffering. I have noticed that we find meaning and purpose as we adopt the responsibility of facing our pain, and not turning from it, which affords us the honor of passing on the sacred pages of our stories like a blazing torch from one generation to the next because it offers hope, wisdom, and the prospect of an adopted life well-lived.
There is much to learn, but this I do know, the orphan spirit, is no match to that of the heart of the Father. We are loved, but we need to be reminded of that frequently.
