“He called a child over, placed it in their midst, and said, ‘Amen, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven.’” – Matt. 18:2-3

Whenever I find a verse in Scripture that doesn’t seem clear, I keep it top-of-mind. I can’t help it really. Matthew 18 has stuck in my head for years. Becoming like a child has so many possible meanings, and Jesus places such a high importance on being “childlike”, I was not content to settle with traditional answers. It wasn’t until recently, being a father and a teacher, that I have begun to understand this passage. The most valuable spiritual trait of a child is unknowing.

It is amazing how much adults think they know. We have the whole world figured out. As our excuse, we have to get up everyday and fulfill a litany of obligations. It would be hard to do this, day in and day out, if we didn’t place a certain level of important and permanence to our actions. In the end, however, it is all an illusion. Our view of reality is small and warped, and our actions are little more than barely conscious plankton riding an ocean wave. In the words of the Preacher, “Vanity of vanities, all is vanity”.

Children know nothing, they are a blank slate. They look to the world, to others, and to God as ready receptacles of learning. They are seeking truth, not pausing for a second to assume they have already found it. Children place great trust in those who teach them. It is their greatest strength and greatest vulnerability. To take the instruction of another gives them power over you, a power which Christ demands we surrender to Him so that we may learn holiness.

Perhaps that is why adults stop learning, we don’t want to be vulnerable. We are afraid of being fooled or made fools of. Maybe that is why we are so hesitant to jump with both feet into a relationship with Christ, and instead wade our toes in the shallow pools of religious exhibition. We like the perception of control that comes from a limited material existence.

Unknowing is a common term in Christian Mysticism, but it took me a while to connect the dots to Matthew 18. The Cloud of Unknown by Unknown (most ironic author ever) is also well known staple of Christian Mysticism. It is a discipline the sages have taught and pleaded with us for years. We are so quick as adults to feel like we have an answer for everything. Not just as religious people, scientists, doctors, and philosophers have always been quick to claim to claim they have things “figured out”. (Remember “Humorism”?) It makes us feel safe to think the world is no bigger than we are.

Despite all the fear and uncertainty that comes from unknowing, there is one out-shining benefit… Discovery! I am jealous when I see my son’s eyes light up as he learns and discovers the wonders of the world around him. I envy the journey he is on. I realize how I could still be on that journey myself if I just let go of my own assumptions as well. The kingdom of heaven is eternal and infinite. So to live in it you must have a mind that is infinitely capable, the mind of a child.

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Related (and where I reused the photo from): Precious Childhood Memories

Technorati Tags: childlike, Christian Mysticism, like a child, unknowing

There is no greater virtue a person can have to foster spiritual growth than humility, and no greater poison than self-deprecation. It has been surprising to me how intertwined and confused these two very different concepts have become. As an almost humorous phenomenon, self-deprecation seems to have taken over from an “I am more humble than you are” contest in religious social-status struggles. Despite the cause, telling the difference between humility and self-deprecation is both a relief and a wake-up call to those striving toward holiness.

Self-Deprecation is a lie, manipulating both yourself and others.

There is a lot of “I” in self-deprecation. “I am a bad person”, “I am not worthy”, “I am not important”, “I am worthless”, etc. Ironically, those who think they may be practicing humility are very self-focused. An attitude of self-deprecation is manipulative, and is ultimately used as an excuse for avoiding responsibility. “I can’t do that, I am not talented enough, smart enough, experienced enough”… and so on. It can also become a way to defer responsibility to others under the guise of humility. “Oh, you should be in charge of that, you are much better than I am…”

Allowing the confusion between self-deprecation and humility to fester in a church or religious organization has it’s own painful consequences. Too often, people who show confidence and courage in their ministries are rebuked as being “arrogant” or “prideful”. Since self-deprecation is easier to impersonate outwardly than humility, people will use it as a way of “one-upping” others in political situations.

Pride is not the opposite of shame, but it’s source.

Using the word “pride” in a sermon is like using the word “Nazi”, everyone agrees it is bad and you can unify an audience quickly by speaking against it. However, the knee-jerk reaction people have to pride is shame. “If I don’t feel bad about myself, I must be prideful.” This attitude is all flavors of wrong.

The truth is, someone who is truly humble and has no pride, does not feel shame. To be truly humble is to have a clear view of our reality. To follow Christ, one accepts the duality of both being a sinner and the potential to be holy. How can someone who has already acknowledged their sin, and committed themselves to pursuing holiness, stumble into shame when their sin is revealed? We do not pursue holiness because we are worthy but because Christ has enabled us to do so, how can we then concern ourselves with our worth?

Those who have pride want others to see them better than they really are, and shame is experienced when our real selves are exposed.

True humility brings joy, liberation, and draws us closer to others.

“Truly, I say to you, unless you repent and become like a child, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Whoever humbles himself like a child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.” Matthew 18:3-4

“Those who are indifferent to praise or blame have great tranquility of heart.” – Thomas a Kempis

Yes, we are all sinners, but that is whole point of Grace. If we were constantly tied to our past, what hope have we to grow? Parent and teachers want their children to grow, to learn from their mistakes, but most of all to move forward. What kind of child would come from a parent who constantly reminded them of past mistakes? All of us who love our children care little for their mistakes, but are passionate for their successes. God views us, His children, in much the same light.

So why then does Scripture speak so much about the importance of humility? Humility is important because it is all part of becoming “like a child”. We accept that we do not know everything, or much at all, so that we can be supple of mind and not ridged when life throws unexpected things our way. We accept that we are sinners and that we are forgiven so we are not crushed as our faults are exposed in our pursuit of holiness. We listen to others because we respect them.

The truly humble are unshakable. They cannot be shamed because they have no false self-images. They cannot be discouraged when they make mistakes because they expected them. They cannot be stagnant because they love instruction, and always know they need to learn. They cannot be taken advantage of because they have no ego to stroke and pay no heed to the insults or complements of others. The humble live only as seeing themselves before God, and no other opinion matters. They are never content to stay put but never frustrated with their progress.

The humble experience great joy because life is a challenge and they are no longer in their own way.

Technorati Tags: Christian Mysticism, humility, self-deprecation

And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend a it. – John 1:5

and are confident that you yourself are a guide to the blind, a light to those who are in darkness – Romans 2:19

All through Scripture we see the struggle between good and evil represented as light and darkness. This is not a mere poetic analogy but a profound declaration as to the very nature of good and evil. Just as darkness has no substance, nor mass, nor force, evil is also nothing more than a void. Just as darkness is nothing more than an absence of light, so is evil nothing more than an absence of good. It is not the task of darknesses to become light, light must fill the darkness. If we meditate on this reality, we realize our responsibility is great, and our perception of our world is in need of changing.

Evil Has No Responsibility to Become Good, Good Must Fill Evil

Darkness cannot become light, light must be produced to fill the darkness. So many Christians, who have grown up with loving homes, tend to judge the poor and lost as deserving of their status due to bad behavior. We don’t stop to think what our own behavior might suffer for lack of love, education, and guidance. When a soul is born into the world, it is empty, needing to be filled. When a soul grows up, without love, it is a void and a parasite. An empty soul wanders to fill itself with whatever it can, not even aware of what it is missing.

Forgiveness and Mercy Are Unconditional for a Reason

The lost often act out according to their status. They rob, they lie, they abuse. When you have never known someone you can trust, moral priorities tend to change. This was just as much the case in Jesus’s time as our own. It’s not like the poor Jesus talked about were all well behaved and good mannered individuals, and only the poor today are so ill-mannered.

Jesus used such strong words regarding forgiveness and charity, not because people deserve it, but because they NEED it. The lost, the poor, the criminal will stay in the dark until those of us, with a little light to offer, take the first steps. Without this understanding, all religion breaks down into uselessness.

Becoming More Than a 5-Watt Bulb

None of us alive have received our full measure of love in this life, it is our human condition. We have all been scarred, hurt, let down, and left wanting. Even the most fortunate of us are still a little empty or “dark” inside. So were is the hope? If we are left unfilled, how can we fill others without an abundance? So I say, isn’t this the whole point of Christianity?

Jesus Christ gave us very little religion, but what He did provide was entirely based around providing us a source of independent nourishment. Grace, charity, love, prayer, faith is all about filling our own darkness with light directly from the source. At some point in our lives, someone becomes Christ to us, shows us the source, and then become filled from it directly. This is salvation, to be free from reliance on man for our light. Those of us who have been redeemed now are under obligation to show this light to others, not that we can completely fill their darkness, but that we can prove the light exists by our actions and behavior so that others may have hope.

Technorati Tags: Christian Mysticism, darkness, good and evil, light

“Beer is proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy.” – Benjamin Franklin

We humans tend to live in extremes.  Most people who drink, drink to get drunk.  If not, it is because they don’t drink at all.  Most people who smoke, chain smoke packs of cigarettes a day.  The rest of us stare them down while exaggerating our coughs to show how disgusting they are.  We gorge ourselves on fatty foods, or obsessively count calories (or carbs).  We surround ourselves with sexually charged entertainment, or blush at statues in the local art gallery.  This is our nature, which is the whole reason temperance was once a virtue we strived for, because it is so contrary to our nature but oh-so good for us! Continue Reading »

Technorati Tags: Abstinence, Christian Mysticism, Gluttony, Temperance

We are all born pagan. I realize how harsh that sounds, but just think about it. Idol worship and superstition come naturally to us. We quickly develop rituals to help our favorite sports teams have “good luck”. Gamblers blow on dice, lottery players have lucky numbers, and Friday the 13th still brings out caution in many (and maybe a rabbit’s foot or two). Even those of us enlightened “mono-theists” have our own methods of bargaining with “forces out of our control” to try to get what we want.

I see a lot of mutual frustration among well meaning pastors and active laity in their efforts to inspire and motivate their bothers and sisters toward a productive faith. I have thought much on the dilemma, on what it is which holds us back, and the best term I could come up with to describe it was “The God Bargain”. The sad truth is so many people approach Christianity as a method of appeasing God as opposed to actually just obeying God. Its a bargain, “God, I will do what you want if you help me *insert favor*”. Continue Reading »

Technorati Tags: Christian Mysticism, God bargain, God bargaining, God's Grace