Dear Faith Family,
What if I told you the thing that keeps us (re) building our lives in the shallow sandiness of unawareness instead of standing firm on the deep foundation is our pretense in our faith practices? If we want to flourish from the depths of our life in God's life, then we can't hide behind false portrayals, ideals, or self-assumptions.
In the middle of the Sermon on the Mount (I know you thought we were done with that!), Jesus warns,
“practicing our righteousness
(or “practices of relating rightly with God's commands and heart")
before other people in order to be seen by them…
will have no reward from our Father who is in heaven.”
(Matthew 6:1)
Jesus goes on to urge us not to put on a show for others, ourselves, or even God, for that is what hypocrites do (6:2,5, 16). Hypocrites are concerned with what is seen rather than what is secret (hidden behind the actor's mask). Instead, Jesus says, whether in generosity, prayer, or fasting to do so,
“in secret.
And your Father who sees in secret
will reward you.”
(Matthew 6:4, 6, 18)
Now, what does the Father, who sees in secret, see? Surely, it’s not just our right religious actions, our faith practices, but what the psalmist has recognized that God knows,
O LORD, you have searched me and known me!
If I say, ‘Surely the darkness shall cover me
(hiding who I truly am),
and the light about me
(what’s good and true and knowable),
be night,’
even the darkness is not dark to you;
the night is bright as day the day,
for darkness is as light to you.
For you formed my inward parts;
you knitted me together in my mother’s womb…
My frame was not hidden from you,
when I was being formed in secret,
intricately woven in the depths of the earth.
Your eyes saw my unformed substance;
in your book were written, every one of them,
the days that were formed for me,
when as yet there was none of them…
I praise you,
for I am fearfully and wonderfully
set apart for purpose.
Wonderful are your works;
my soul knows it very well.
(Psalm 139:1,11-13, 15-16, 14)
What Jesus invites us into is a genuineness in our relating to God, not a posturing that keeps God at a distance and us living in the shallow. Jesus invites us into being fully known, and the reward of being fully known is, as the psalmist found, a soul content—fully aware of who and whose and for what it is.
While we spent several hours Sunday responding to Jesus' invitation by going deeper through Solitude and Silence, which our Eighth Practice walks you through, might I encourage you to take 20 minutes today to be yourself with God? The exercise below will guide you through moving from the shallows into the depths. In doing so, may you find what our Father sees and its reward.
Love you, faith family!
__________________________________________________________________________________________
Being Yourself With God*
Acknowledge that you are here at the invitation of God, who has searched and known you. There is nothing to hide and no expectation to be hidden.
Set a 5-minute timer, which you'll reset after each movement. Then, take note of the following as you move from the surface into the depths of yourself with God.
BODY (5 mins) What is your physical condition lately? Are you tired, energized, satisfied with your level of health and fitness, eating well or not, caring for health issues, and so on?
Talk with God about these things and listen for His response.
MIND (5 mins) What concerns or questions have occupied your thoughts recently? How has your mind been working on these questions, and what is the result?
Let your questions sit in silence with God. Don’t grasp for answers; just let them settle in what God sees.
HEART (5 mins) What emotions have been most prevalent recently? What feelings are you living on or pop up most often? What are your persistent longings?
Let your questions sit in silence with God. Don’t grasp for answers; just let them settle in the presence of God with you and take note of what happens emotionally, physically, spiritually.
SOUL (5 mins) What is the condition of your soul these days? What concerns are weighing on you? What joys or successes are you celebrating? Where do you hurt? Where do you feel whole?
Bring these to God as a child would bring squeals of delight or tears of sadness or frustration to a loving parent. Allow yourself to experience everything you are feeling right now
without censoring anything. Speak to God directly about what you are experiencing, recognizing He knows and is with you in this place.
When the last timer sounds, enter the day formed for you, doing the work for which you were formed.
*This exercise is an adaption from Ruth Haley Barton's "Invitation Into Solitude & Silence," pages 136-139.