Skip to main content

Thoughts From Henri Nouwen

Dear Friends,

How does one sustain their spiritual life in a busy, noisy, distracted, pleasure-seeking, and materialistic culture? It’s a question we should all ask at one time or another, since it is by no means an easy task. The world is not neutral to the things of God. It is heavily weighted in the opposite direction. It would rather drag our attention away from God if it is at all possible. The Bible tells us to, “Fix your eyes on Jesus…,” but the world would rather have us fix our eyes on anything but Jesus!

In this regard today’s selection from Henri Nouwen’s short but helpful book, “Making All Things New – An Invitation to the Spiritual Life” gives us some wise pointers. It shows us that which detracts from the "spiritual" life, and offers insights into that which will facilitate it. I pray his words may simply whet your appetite to read more about the causes and cures he lays out in the later chapters. Enjoy.

“One of the most obvious characteristics of our daily lives is that we are busy. Our days are filled with things to do, people to meet, projects to finish, letters to write, calls to make, and appointments to keep. Our lives often seem like overpacked suitcases bursting at the seams… There is always something else that we should have remembered, done, or said. There are always people we did not speak to, write to, or visit. Thus, although we are very busy, we also have a lingering feeling of never really fulfilling our obligations.

The strange thing is, however, that it is very hard not to be busy. Being busy has become a status symbol. People expect us to be busy and to have many things on our minds. Often our friends say to us, “I guess you are busy, as usual,” and mean it as a compliment. They reaffirm the general assumption that it is good to be busy… Being busy and being important often seem to mean the same thing… In our production-oriented society, being busy, having an occupation, has become one of the main ways – if not THE main way – of identifying ourselves. Without an occupation, not just our economic security, but our very identity is endangered. This explains the great fear with which many people face their retirement. After all, who are we when we no longer have an occupation?...

Not only being occupied, but also being preoccupied is highly encouraged by our society. The way in which newspapers, radio, and TV communicate their news to us creates an atmosphere of constant emergency. The excited voices of reporters, the predilection for gruesome accidents, cruel crimes, and perverted behavior, and the hour-to-hour coverage of human misery at home and abroad, slowly engulf us with an all-pervasive sense of impending doom.

On top of all this bad news is the avalanche of advertisements and their insistence that we will miss out on something very important if we do not read this book, see this movie, hear this speaker, or buy this new product. It deepens our restlessness and adds many fabricated preoccupations to the already existing ones. Sometimes it seems as if our society has become dependent on the maintenance of these artificial worries. What would happen if we stopped worrying? If the urge to be entertained so much, buy so much, and to arm ourselves so much, no longer motivated our behavior? Could our society as it is today still function?...

[Yet] Jesus does not respond to our worry-filled way of living by saying that we should not be so busy with worldly affairs. He does not try to pull us away from the many events, activities, and people that make up our lives. He does not tell us that what we do is unimportant, valueless, or useless. Nor does he suggest we should withdraw from our involvements and live quiet and restful lives removed from the struggles of the world. Jesus responds to our worry-filled lives by asking us to shift the point of gravity, to relocate the center of our attention, to change our priorities. Jesus wants us to move from the ‘many things’ to the ‘one necessary thing.’

It is important for us to realize that Jesus in no way wants us to leave our multifaceted world. Rather, he wants us to live in it, but be firmly rooted in the center of all things. Jesus does not speak about a change of activities, a change of contacts, or even a change of pace. He speaks of a change of heart. This change of heart makes everything different, even while everything appears to remain the same. This is the meaning of, ‘set your hearts on his kingdom first…and all these things will be given to you as well.’ What counts is where our hearts are.

When we worry, we have our hearts in the wrong place. Jesus asks us to move our hearts to the center, where all other things fall into place. What is this center? Jesus calls it the kingdom of His Father… A heart set on the Father’s kingdom is a heart set on the spiritual life. To set our hearts on the kingdom, therefore, means to make the life of the Spirit within us, and among us, the center of all we think, say, and do.”

The rest of Nouwen’s book focuses on what will help us get there, and how it will sustain us in one of the most difficult things Jesus calls us to do – “be in the world, but not of it.” Reading the first four paragraphs above might lead some to think of leaving civilization and running to the wilderness – like the Essenes of Qumran, or the Desert Fathers, or those drawn into monastic orders – seeking refuge from the world in an isolated monastery, or an extremely rural and secluded setting.

Yet, the call of Jesus is more missional than that. It is actually harder than that. It calls us to live out the spiritual life in the world where those most caught up in the dysfunction and addictions of culture are most in need of seeing a heart focused on that kingdom which is not of this world. The key is not to escape from the world to the wilderness, but to stay in it and function in the world in a calm, content, loving, joyful, Spirit-filled, God-focused, and God-honoring way.

It can be done, or Jesus would not have called us to do so, Pastor Jeff

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Thoughts In Memory of Tim Keller

Dear Friends, News broke last Friday (May 19) that pastor Tim Keller had gone home to be with Jesus. I must say that his commitment to a gospel-centered understanding and application of Scripture, his determination to reach this generation, his encouragement to live out the Gospel through our lives and words and actions, his keen insights into contemporary culture, and his gracious way of engaging even with those he disagreed with – have been an inspiration to me and multitudes of others. He was truly a gift of God to many pastors and parishioners in our day. Therefore, today, in honor of his life and ministry, I offer you a mere sampling of 20 Tim Keller quotes. But I warn you that although reading Keller can be insightful and refreshing, it can also be a bit convicting and unsettling. Through his insights you will learn to see old things in a new light (which stirs the spirit!), but you will also discover that you do some of what you do for reasons other than what you had th

Thoughts From Priscilla Shirer

Dear Friends, During difficult times have you ever been tempted to focus only on the negative, the lack, the struggle, the sense of hopelessness? And if you were tempted to do so, did it blind you to what you did have? Did it cause you to overlook the blessings that were there all along, even in the midst of those times of lack? It’s not hard to do so. Our mounting concerns during difficult times can blind us to God’s supply. This week’s “thought” speaks to that situation. It comes from the devotional book entitled “Awaken” by Priscilla Shirer. A friend gave it to me a couple weeks back and I’m just starting to go through it. This particular devotion is entitled “What Do You Have?” and is based on II Kings 4:2 where a widow owes money, is confronted by creditors who come and threaten to take her two sons and sell them into slavery, in order to cover her debt. When Elisha finds out, he asks her: “What can I do for you? Tell me, what do you have in your house?” Priscilla’s

Thoughts From Horatio Spafford

Dear Friends, I like stories. True stories. And not always stories that have a happy ending. In fact, I have gained much solace from stories that were very sad (like this one), but were helpful because they were about real people, struggling with raw emotions, and real issues, in an imperfect and fallen world where our ultimate hope must rest elsewhere. This morning I read a story I've read before. It's one I have even shared from the pulpit before. And I know that many of you (like me) have already heard as well. But then I thought, "Maybe some do not know it." And if you happen to be one, you need to read on! I pass this story along for you. For those who have not heard the story behind the writing of the hymn, "It Is Well With My Soul" by Horatio Spafford. Because once you know the story behind it, it's hard to ever sing it again in the same way. And even if you already know it, it is always helpful to pause and think once again about a