The Unfortunate Prerequisite for Resurrection
LETTER BY GRACE POUCH
Christ invites us. We follow him. Then, like the rising sun, God’s reality floods light into the cracks of our thoughts and desires.
His invitations continue. We follow him further into practices, insights… encounter. Slowly, sometimes imperceptibly — like the thaw of a thick-frozen stream — the grace and goodness of God changes us.
Occasionally, we become aware of the changes. Managing what others think of us feels unnecessary. Controlling people feels unnatural. Gradually, our behavior reflects our heart, and our heart our behavior. We’re becoming integrated, whole, holy… “Rivers of living water will flow from within [us]” (John 7:38).
Oh, the joy of “a life that works” — that’s how Richard Foster defines holiness. That kind of change in me or you or anyone ought to be celebrated. To God be the glory!
But transformation isn’t an event. It’s a process. It’s ongoing, circuitous, and slow. It’s seasonal. Sometimes it’s Spring. Sometimes it’s Winter.
No matter how much progress the Spirit has made, there’s a good chance some part of us is still frozen, still stuck in our ways, still resisting God’s rule. Maybe it’s a habit we don’t even realize we have — some “sin in my members,” as Saint Paul put it.
Take one of my current struggles. When it’s time to get my family out the door to church or school, I turn into a drill sergeant. Some time ago, I learned that sharp words get results. It became a habit that now I must unlearn.
“Unlearn” sounds harmless. But often this process is death, simply because dying is an unfortunate prerequisite for resurrection.
Andrew Arndt discussed this in-depth with Nathan Foster. After a disorienting job shift, Andrew sensed God saying, “Why don’t you lay down in this grave that I’ve put you in… and let me renew you?” Andrew describes the process as a deconstruction — not of doctrine or tradition, as we often hear the word used — but the demolition of a false self.
It feels terrifying to let God put to death any practical strategies for living that ultimately harm our souls. But Christian voices down through the ages — and the living testimony of Jesus himself — assure us that God can be trusted not just to put us into a grave but to bring us out of it.
Lord, if anything is blocking Your light in my life, remove it. If I’m sheltering any of Your enemies — hate, greed, anger, vanity — take a wrecking ball to the house I’ve made for them. If my compulsions drive me to things and places that kill my soul, then in your kindness, kill those compulsions and resurrect them as pure desires. I am crucified with Christ. I am raised with Christ. Help my heart and body know it is so. Amen.
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LET’S DIVE IN...
CURATED BY GRACE POUCH
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On the newest episode of Renovaré’s Life with God podcast, Andrew Arndt shares how a disorienting job change left him feeling like “a house ripped down to the studs” and how learning from the ancient Desert Mothers and Fathers sparked his renewal.
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The renovation of our souls is tender work. In his song “Community,” Brian Morykon reminds us that this careful, caring work on our inward life makes a way for God to make his home in us.
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John the Short said that inward goodness grows in those who “live as though buried in a tomb…” These wisdom sayings from the Desert Fathers and Mothers can help us non-hermits embrace the grave or cell God has designed to deepen our spiritual renewal.
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The Henri Nouwen Society has a free discussion guide for groups to use in reading through Nouwen’s The Way of the Heart, inspired by the ancient teachings the Desert Fathers on three spiritual “stepping-stones”: Solitude (learning not to be alone but to be alone with God); Silence (the discipline by which the inner fire of God is tended and kept alive); and Prayer (standing in the presence of God with the mind in the heart).
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Since I am determined to join myself to God, I find that I am also bound to be the enemy of his enemies. Catherine of Genoa’s 15th century writing presents a clear and beautiful picture of what it means to surrender the self to God.
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Digging deeper into last week’s discussion on the connection between personal spiritual renewal and loving our neighbors by engaging in public life, Renovaré is offering a virtual workshop on practical ways to “navigate a contentious political landscape with Jesus.” Join hosts Ted Harro and Michael Wear for “Politics and Spiritual Formation” on Thursday, February 22.
Grace Pouch
Content Manager