Why passion is not enough for faith

Recently I finished reading Wired for Story: The Writer's Guide to Using Brain Science to Hook Readers from the Very First Sentence. While this book is a little different than I expected and I almost did not finish reading it, I made the commitment to read it and so I finished it. 

The author quoted Jorge Luis Borges who noted, “Art is fire plus algebra.”

That got me thinking about spiritual formation.

I listen to a number of people talk about how they feel they should read the Bible more or have a better devotional life. Words like "I should want to want to do this" come up a lot.

For instance I heard a Christian say the other day, "We should want to read our Bible every day!" 

The underlying issue in these comments and sentiments is that we are under the false impression that if we just had the right amount of passion for something then we would want to want to do it. If we just had a change of heart and a passion for God then we would want to read the Bible everyday.

This is a false impression because passion (fire) is not enough! The thing that the saints of the church and those who are deeply grounded is that they too have figured out that passion is not enough to spiritually mature. The saints have all figured out the systems (algebra) to fuel the fire of passion.

You know the secret to wanting to want to spiritually mature? Set up systems in place that you cannot make an excuse for not doing it. We don't like the idea of having bad breath so we brush our teeth. Even if you do not have a fire about dental health, you have a system in place to ensure your teeth will remain healthy.

Want to mature in your spiritually? Discover the algebra, because fire is not enough.

We do not have time to rush

There is a difference between being rushed and being urgent. but we sometimes think they are the same thing.

The word, “rush” comes from a Old French word ruser

meaning “to dodge”. When we are in a rush we bounce all over the place. We move from 

breakfast to class to home in order to grab that thing you left behind to work to meetings to volunteering to practice to dropping off the kids to the gas station to make that phone call to picking up the kids to medical exams to back to dinner to bed to sleep. And in all our bouncing we are dodging all the places where Christ calls us to be.

The thing about the act of dodging is that to dodge means you are reacting. Like in the game dodgeball. You do not dodge until someone has thrown the ball. Dodgeball is a game of dodging and reacting.

How many of us live our lives dodging and reacting?

The word urgency comes from Latin and it means to press or push forward. Notice that to press forward means you are not jumping all over the place. To move forward means you are moving in a specific direction with the intent to press on in that direction. To move forward means that you can handle things that come up but they do not deter you from your mission. When Jesus stopped to heal the bleeding woman (Mark 5), the little girl died, but Jesus continued to press forward and healed the little girl.

You can tell when you read the gospel Jesus is moving with urgency. Jesus is clear that he is going to Jerusalem. Jesus is clear that he will be killed, which is why he is able to predict his death three different times. Jesus knows the direction he is moving and he moves with a sense of urgency.

Jesus does not dodge a question. He does not dodge authorities. He does not dodge an opportunity to help those in need. He does not dodge Pilate. He does not dodge the mob sent to get him. He does not dodge his betrayer. He does not dodge the cross. He does not dodge death. No!

This is a very large reason I am a follower of Jesus Christ. Christ brings clear direction in a world that is bouncing all around. Jesus teaches a way of life that is filled with purpose. Christ allows us to say no to certain things without guilt because together we are moving in a specific direction. Jesus empowers us to no longer dodge the difficulties of life but to confront them. Being a follower of Christ is to live so urgently that there is no time to rush.

How to say goodbye

While on vacation I saw a table of three people next to our table who seemed to be good friends. When it was time for one of them to leave they had a goodbye ritual that just captured my attention even provoked me to go ask what it all meant. 

First they hugged so that their heads moved to the right. They told me they lean that way first because "we lead with our hearts." They hold that embrace for as long as it takes to breathe together a single breath. The next step is to hug and breath on the other side. Finally, they would touch foreheads (their third eye) and breathe one more breath together. Finally, they would say "Namasté" which translated as "I bow to you" and depart.

It all took about 20 seconds but it was the most intimate goodbye I have ever witnessed and it made me think about how saying goodbye it really a sacred moment that is often overlooked. 

A hug and saying "goodbye" is about the extent of goodbyes in my life. But what would it look like to reclaim the sacredness of saying goodbye to someone? And how difficult is it in our time to make goodbyes more intimate? 

It was clear to me watching these people say goodbye that they seemed to understand they may not see one another again and so they sealed their time together with a sacred moment. 

Do you have any goodbye rituals?