Other "Thinking Drafts" and writing by Keith
Drury -- http://www.indwes.edu/tuesday
Thoughts
for the Recently Revived
You’ve recently experienced God in a powerful new way? You’ve were a nominal Christian – but now that you’ve had a religious experience which totally turned your life around. You are now an emptied out, sold out, surrendered, filled and empowered 100%er. You can think of little else but how shallow you were before and how filled with power you are now. And you think everyone else needs just what you just received. Consider these thoughts for the “recently revived” while you are so hot.
A young woman or young man with a powerful new spiritual experience is often too quick to search for a label. "I was never saved all my life 'till now," or "God baptized me with the Holy Spirit yesterday." You might be right, and labels can be useful. But you might be wrong. Labeling experiences too soon often leads to confusion later for yourself, and fumbled attempts to help others now. Instead, let the experience marinate a while. Read about the religious experiences of past Christians and search for similarities. Talk with wise older Christians and describe the experience – see how they label it before you attach your own label. In time you will see this spiritual experience in the perspective of God's long-term work in your life. Labeling spiritual experiences too soon can send you down the wrong road – in your own life, and in helping others. Just tell your story and let the Holy Spirit define it over time.
This experience is powerful for you. I can see. God has changed your life! It is as if scales have fallen from your eyes. You were blind, now you see! You wonder how you could have been so shallow and cool-hearted. God has awakened you. He has revived your heart. You have died out, surrendered, been emptied out, cleansed, filled and are on fire for God. And you look about you and see hundreds of others who are just like you used to be. How disgusting. How can they be so shallow… so foolish… so nominal… so blind? They are completely ignorant of this experience you’ve got. Why can’t they see it? You want to charge at them with burning heart and brandished Bible to help them get what you’ve got. Your intentions are good. Your heart is pure. But it doesn’t come across that way. You appear arrogant and spiritually superior. They say you are obnoxious. You even pride yourself in their rejection – “when one preaches the truth it divided” you congratulate yourself. Of course these people see you in the context of your past shallowness. They see you as a Johnnie-come-lately to spiritual renewal. They wonder where you get the authority all at one to lecture them about shallowness. Sure, you've changed -- but for how long, they wonder. They’re thinking, “this’ll pass in a month or two.” So, be careful about recruiting people to get what you got. Adopt a more humble attitude. Spend more time giving your testimony than giving altar calls. Just tell your story and let the Holy Spirit do the rest.
When God does a work in your life it is easy to assume, “This is how God works.” That is, you easily assume your own experience is a “formula” for others. And we can make generalizations from religious experience -- but not individual experience. We need to examine collective religious experience to make such generalizations. What God did for you He did for you. Don’t assume automatically that everyone else needs this exact experience and they can get it the same way you got it. Watch out for the attitude that everyone must adopt this new truth you’ve discovered – and adopt it exactly the way you see it. Such approaches are not just foolish -- they come across as arrogant. Just tell your story and let the Holy Spirit do the rest.
Don’t forget that God judges us over long periods of time... months...years...lifetimes... not by the week. Indeed, God is not so much interested in your fire this week as the sort of burning you’ll do over the next decade, or lifetime. Recall how the Old Testament tells us, a certain king "did what was good in the sight of the Lord..." or another one, "did what was evil in the sight of the Lord..." What does this mean? That they were 100% good or 100% bad? Not really. It means the tenor of their entire life was pronounced either good or bad. This is how God sees us. Go for an entire lifetime of surrender, passion and commitment -- not just a week or month of it. God sees the long view. When he sees our pitiful attempts to impress Him with our recent temporary dedication he must at times mutter to Himself, "That don't impress me much..." Just tell your story and let the Holy Spirit do the rest.
What does being "emptied out" look like? Or "total commitment" Or "holiness?" It looks very ordinary. It's really not that impressive. At least the acts which spring from a holy heart are seldom impressive individually. It is only when these are piled up -- strung back to back through a whole life -- that they form a necklace of beauty. Holiness results in ordinary deeds that are easily overlooked. Holiness chooses to do difficult things like sitting with someone in the dining commons who is sitting alone, or simply listening to people as you look to meet their needs, not your own. Holiness is showing up at less-than-exciting worship, sometimes out of duty. It is making a bed, or more so, making someone else's bed. And doing it secretly. It is picking up a piece of paper on the ground and putting it in the trash. It is sitting by a lonely kid on a bench, or writing a simple note. It is looking at someone who feels worthless in such a way that your eyes fortify them with worth. It is returning a grocery cart, or saying "I'm sorry," or picking up a dress which had fallen from the rack at Wal-Mart. Holiness is praying for someone who doesn't like you. Or, praying for somebody you don't like. Holiness suffers fools sweetly, even when they’re driving ahead of you. Holiness is exceedingly ordinary. Not that practicing these things would make a person holy. To do by discipline these things would only make a person self-righteous. But these sort of things are the result of God’s work in the hearts of men and women. Sure, you may experience powerful surges of “liquid glory” when God works in your life. But such glory—if it truly from God – will result in simple ordinary thoughts, words and deeds of holiness. It is wonderful that God’s work fell on you “like electricity going in the top of my head and out the bottom of your feet.” But the long term result of such ecstatic experiences is supposed to be normal godliness in living, not just feeling. “Humdrum holiness.” It is the only kind there is. Holiness results in working on a Habitat house, or giving someone a book for free, or voting against your own interests, or… tithing.
During the camp meeting era in my denomination people would sometimes run and shout in worship after “getting blessed” by God. Wiise oldtimes used to remark about this jumping and leaping, "It doesn't matter so much how high you jump, as how straight you walk when you come down." Being blessed by God is delightful, but obedience is better.
Back about 15-20 years ago bumper stickers appeared on cars saying, "Honk if you love Jesus..." It was cute. People would drive by and HONK HONK HONK... WHEEEEEEEE! What fun! We love Jeeeeeeeesus! Yipppppppppppieeeeeeeee! Yet some of these honkers drove like demons, cut off people, were selfish, and skipped church frequently. They simply liked HONKING... for Jesus or anything else.
Soon a rejoinder bumper sticker emerged... "If you love Jesus don't honk... tithe." It made the point I’m making here. While tithing is not the “test” of holiness (any more than any one act, thought or word is) the bumper sticker illustrates my point: Godly living is not so much in the experience you have as the life you live. And that life of holiness is very ordinary. Religious experience is impressive, but real holiness that comes from God’s work is pretty humdrum. Especially when viewed one act at a time. Boring holiness. Steady holiness. Faithful holiness. Costly holiness. Ordinary holiness. This is how we show our love for Jesus
So... enjoy the euphoric emotional and spiritual experiences you’ve just gotten. I would not take them from you or diminish their power for a moment. Let them burn brightly this week or month, or however long they glow. Go ahead and honk for Jesus. This is the time for honking. But keep in mind that the long-lasting important effect of your experience will be in ordinary things. “Humdrum holiness.” For now, just tell your story, And let the Holy Spirit do the rest.
So what do you think?
To contribute to the thinking on this issue
e-mail your response to Tuesday@indwes.edu
By Keith Drury; September, 2000. You are free
to transmit, duplicate or distribute this article for non-profit use without
permission.
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REFERENCE: This column is indebted to the ideas
presented in Helmut Thielicke’s A Little Exercise for Young Theologians
Though in this case the concepts are applied to experience rather than theological knowledge.