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Colin Sauskojus's avatar

Pure fire, Ian. I especially like your first point on union with Christ...where so much of the message has gone wrong for me is the "divine fire insurance"...for many "faith" is not about cultivating a relationship with God but to avoid suffering. Union with Christ teaches us that following his commands is not a burden, but a new life.

I also highly agree with your thoughts on the Church. I think the more we can ground ourselves in community across the week and not just on Sunday, the more we will be influenced by wirings and giftings that are not our own, the more we will not be able to maintain secrecy in our lives, the more we will develop a shared group identity in following Christ...there's so much to be adjusted in my modern day American Christian context that I think would only be helpful. It wouldn't just separate wheat from chaff (though that's not the point), it would make the Church and its message something that is genuinely compelling in a post-modern world where the moral argument for salvation (though true) doesn't land because morals aren't shared the same way. Inviting someone into a life of rich community with a different (and more beautiful) vision of the life to come seems far more intriguing to the young adults and young believers I am around.

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Grace Leuenberger's avatar

I really liked and appreciated what you spelled out here, Ian. The distinction between affection and feeling has been on my mind a lot as I journeyed through a particularly challenging year in which the fruit of my spiritual disciplines yielded a more private, slow harvest. I feel a greater affection towards Christ than before this particular season, but outwardly, expressing what I was learning spiritually to others felt harder to describe. I suppose much of how my affection was being shaped was through work of understanding and questioning how doctrine has or hasn’t shaped my faith and it’s outworking in my life. In particular, prayer was a place to get honest with God about the challenges of theodicy and how he was using my suffering to invite me into deeper trust and relationship with him. This was and is slow work. Thanks for your thoughts here!

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