Maybe the word holistic brings to your mind thoughts of new age medicine or a health food store. Perhaps you are familiar with this word through your studies in the social sciences, chemistry, or some other specialized field but have left it there not having a use for it in your everyday vocabulary.
How could this word be used to describe your life with Christ?
ho·lis·tic adj.
including or involving all of something, especially all of somebody’s physical, mental, and social conditions, not just physical symptoms, in the treatment of illness
Encarta® World English Dictionary © 1999 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved. Developed for Microsoft by Bloomsbury Publishing Plc.
The words that we use to talk about our experience of God, through Jesus Christ, suggest that we look at our relationship with Him a bit more holistically. For example, we sometimes call our connection to God the following: our walk, our life in Christ, a personal relationship
“For you died and your life is now [note, I fixed the error] hidden with Christ in God.” – Colossians 3:3
Fascinatingly, Jesus does not say that our spiritual lives are “hidden with Christ in God”. He does not say that our relationship with Him is “hidden with Christ in God”. In fact, he doesn’t even limit it to our “walk with Christ” but instead he says that our very “lives” are hidden with “Christ in God”. Not our spiritual lives, not that part of our lives that is focused upon theological reflection, nor does he say that our souls, or our religious sensibility is “hidden with Christ in God”. But our life, all of it.
Jesus is not interested in your spiritual life. He doesn’t want your religious life. He wants your life. Your waking, sleeping, eating, breathing, working, playing, studying, entertaining, complaining, professional, recreational, rejoicing, impatient, uncontrolled, indecisive, holy, profane, good, bad, ugly, glorious…life. He is not interested in a part of you. He wants all of you and all of you is exactly what has been “hidden with Christ in God”.
That is what God is set on changing, transforming, into the character and likeness of his Son Jesus. So, Wheatland Mission, is going to be about the business of transforming our lives across every spectrum of our life. As a church we will take a holistic approach to discipleship and spiritual formation. We cannot expect God to leave us alone so long as we give him a little bit of us here and a little bit of us there. Even if we give what we believe to be a significant part of ourselves he will still want more. And if we are wise we will let him get all it.
Practically speaking, this will mean that our process of spiritual formation will include not only our religious life but much more. God is bent on transforming every aspect of our lives from the professional sphere to the religious; from the recreational sphere to the intellectual; from the emotional to the physical. All of these things make up our spiritual lives.
“And the WORD became a flesh and blood human being and moved into the neighborhood.” – John 1:14 The Message
“So Jesus became wiser and taller, and gained favor with God and those around.” – Luke 2:40 NT Wright Trans.
Across every spectrum of his life Jesus grew and matured. He grew physically strong and emotionally mature. He grew in knowledge and wisdom and received the respect of people around him. Like all of us he had work to do yet his work was permeated with an awareness of God’s Kingdom. As in every area of life, Jesus remains our model for holistic discipleship. Transcending the categories of our lives Jesus remains the model for our growth and maturity.
To prepare for this week's meeting let me encourage all of you to read Genesis 12:1-3 and Genesis 17:1-8. Of course, if you want to read all of the stuff in between as well that would be great. We are continuing our discussion of what it means to live as Kingdom people and operate as a Missional Church.
