Every week another fad comes across my desk as a new management practice I need to adopt in order to be successful. I have seen too many to be caught up in anything anymore. Company structures evolve and change overtime, trying to adapt to the present, always a bit caught up in the past. On the personal side, styles of clothing follow much the same process. New shows come every spring and fall, unveiling the latest styles and approaches to presenting one’s self to the public. Logic is not always obvious, good taste is often hard to find. However, every once in awhile a management approach or new style catches my eye and I knew it is going to be around for a long time!
Spiritually there are just as many passing fads. God is dead was a mantra from the 60’s. God is watching from a distance was a variation in the 90’s. Pragmatic, do it my way or you are doomed, reflects much of the American religious right. Styles of doing church, belonging to a group, dressing a certain way, and doing or not doing certain things all come to the front at different times.
In Paul’s era, the mantra was the Law an interpreted by the Jewish Leaders. This approach continues through history and comes out in current approaches to spirituality wrapped in names like theology, doctrine, and beliefs. While these things may be necessary for a religion to be consistent as an institution, I am not sure they are the definitive recipe for our journey with God.
Let me be perfectly blunt. The Law will not bring peace, grace, and mercy to your life or mine. Theology, doctrine, and beliefs are merely statements and words.
My response to this is simple. “I need something more!” (Romans 7.21)
I need God’s grace, mercy, and love in my life. I need the mystical relationship with God’s Spirit. I need, no I passionately want this experience with an intensity I find hard to convey. The recipe is to pursue God with all that you have!
