As we slow down today,
We're going to consider how we understand what it means to be human.
In our last session,
We contemplated how we view God.
We looked at his mercy and grace as revealed in scripture,
That are intrinsic to his being,
And his posture toward us,
His presence with us in that mercy and grace.
We hold so many assumptions about who God is,
Who we are as people,
And what the relationship between God and people is like.
And because of this,
It's important to pause and consider what's informing these assumptions,
Especially when we're doing any kind of therapeutic work.
This allows us to first ask the question,
Does my theology match scripture?
Before asking the question,
Does this therapeutic approach match my theology?
If we don't start by parsing through our assumptions and beliefs,
We could end up unknowingly misguided in the steps that we take in our therapeutic work.
I invite you to settle into this space,
Taking a few nice deep breaths,
Closing your eyes if you're comfortable,
And I'll open us with a prayer.
Lord God,
You are truth and you are wisdom.
Would you give us eyes to see your creation in a new way?
Would you remove from us any old wounds or shame that distort our view of you,
And distort our view of how you created people in your image?
Amen.
Keeping your eyes closed,
I invite you to notice what comes to mind as you listen to me survey a brief commentary of the creation narrative.
This is a story we know.
Rather than engaging with just your thinking brain,
See what it might be like to listen and soak in this known narrative with all of your being.
There's actually only a portion of our brain that knows verbal language,
So as we engage with mental imagery,
We're connecting with deeper parts of our brain and body,
Connecting more holistically with all of us that God created,
The depths of us.
Let your mind be curious and creative as I take us through this story that we know.
In the beginning,
There was darkness,
And God brings about light and life.
He creates beautiful and breathing beings,
Things deemed good.
People are created in God's image,
His very likeness.
In these first verses in Genesis,
We see an immediate contrast of light and dark,
Good and not good,
Good and evil.
The turn of events in Genesis 3 brings the beautiful creation narrative to a tragic break.
God walking alongside his created image bearers now turns to his created image bearers hiding from him in fear.
This is not how things were meant to be.
These stark contrasts of light and dark,
Good and evil,
Are now emphasized in God's image bearers no longer standing in the light of communion with him,
But instead disconnected from him in the darkness of fear and shame.
From the beginning,
We see the critical links between what we're looking to scripture to inform,
How we understand God,
How we understand what it means to be human,
And how we understand God's engagement with the brokenness of being human.
As we are created in God's image,
We cannot understand ourselves apart from knowing who God is.
That's why we spent our last session slowing down to sit with God's character,
His presence,
His face.
There's something intrinsic to being in relationship with God,
To being created in his image that includes alignment with his nature,
Bearing and embodying his likeness in our being.
Our first identity as image bearers is the foundation that's laid before the rest of the biblical narrative.
This primary identity of humans as ones who are made in God's likeness is something that a theologian named Mark Cortez calls a representational presence,
Meaning our presence on earth,
Our very existence,
Is to be a representation of God's presence.
Let's all take a nice deep breath as we let this soak in.
Taking a couple more deep breaths,
What does this bring to mind?
We are all waiting on being created in God's image to be a representational presence of God's presence on earth.
As we consider the formation of our souls,
It's crucial to be mindful of our anthropology.
This is just a fancy way of saying how we understand what it means to be human.
We know that there is a problem that creates a need for God's grace,
But we often forget or confuse our first and primary identity as image bearers.
Our inability to live rightly in alignment with God's nature is real.
We know this in ourselves and from others.
The depth of our need for God's redemptive work in our lives doesn't mean that our primary identity is lost,
Though.
We can be God's creations,
Made in his very likeness,
A sacred first identity that is not dependent on us,
But wholly rests on who God is,
And at the same time be unable to rightly live in alignment with God's nature in need of his mercy and grace to transform our hearts from the inside out.
I might feel like I'm splitting hairs here,
But this is incredibly important for how we understand the greater process of spiritual formation.
I invite you to pause and take a breath,
And let your mind construct imagery or symbolism that comes up when you think about our primary identity being that we are sinful,
The idea that there is nothing good inside of us,
A message that is commonly accepted in Western evangelicalism.
How does your mind envision this as the primary identity of humans,
As your primary identity as a person?
Now taking another deep breath,
Let your mind construct imagery or symbolism that comes up when you think about our primary identity being that we are created,
Bearing God's image,
Sacred beings,
Because God is good and holy,
And we are made in his likeness,
And at the same time are in need of God's redemptive work to make our hearts fully right with his image that he created us to bear,
Dependent on his compassionate mercy and grace to transform the heart that he created to be aligned with his nature,
To embody and embrace his mercy and grace.
How does your mind envision this as the primary identity of humans,
As your primary identity as a person?
How is this different from the image you constructed a minute ago?
Continuing some nice deep breaths,
I invite you to think about the distinctions here.
You can let your mind continue to construct that imagery or even compare that imagery.
Does this feel like a subtle difference to you,
Or just a difference in semantics?
Does it feel like incorrect theology?
Or is there any part of you that reacts internally,
Thinking it's just not right to view people as sacred,
Rather than solely defining people by their sin?
These kinds of questions are crucial to consider because it creates space for us to hold several things in tension that are all true at the same time.
We are sacred beings created in God's image.
Scripture is clear about this.
And at the same time,
We are in need of God's mercy and grace to align our hearts and to live rightly with who he is.
Scripture is also clear about this.
As these things are both true,
As we wrestle through the formation of our souls,
We can acknowledge the thoughts and actions of parts of us that miss the mark,
That harm others,
That dishonor God.
And at the same time,
We can acknowledge that there are thoughts and actions of parts of us that are misguided,
Not always from sin,
But from things like woundedness,
Pain,
Fear,
Or shame.
Before we close,
We're going to survey a number of assumptions that can shape how we view things like this,
To help us consider if there are beliefs that might complicate engaging in the holistic formation of our souls.
As I read these,
Gently notice what happens inside of you.
Notice if there are any thoughts,
Emotions,
Or reactions that pop up.
Let yourself be curious about these,
Maybe jotting them down in a journal after the session to chew on them later.
For now,
Just let these wash over you,
Noticing what comes to mind.
The assumptions we often hold,
Which can get in the way of holistic formation of our souls,
Are as follows.
Every facet of us should automatically and consistently know and trust that God is good if we are a Christian.
We are being stubborn or controlling if any part of us is seemingly refusing to trust God or rest in our faith in Him.
Any sign of perceived resistance in our souls should be condemned as sin.
The parts of us that appear resistant and stubborn just want control or lack faith,
And are therefore sinful and bad.
We somehow need to get rid of these parts of us that are bad and sinful to grow in our spiritual formation.
Again,
These are assumptions that we often hold that can really get in the way of a holistic formation of our souls.
I invite you to take a few nice deep breaths and now notice what happens inside as you listen to this next list of new perspectives that can clear the path toward a more healing and holistic spiritual formation.
Every facet of us may not know or feel connected to God in the same way that the most spiritual parts of us often do.
Some of the depths of our soul might need to get to know God and build trust and relationship with Him differently than other parts of us already have.
All facets of us are embodied in our being as God's creation who bears His image and are therefore first and foremost sacred.
The parts of us that are scared and hurting most need a compassionate response like the one lived out in Christ's ministry,
Which is an embodiment of God's mercy and loving kindness.
Encountering God's mercy and grace is what mobilizes spiritual formation in a holistic way,
Rather than fragmenting seemingly good parts of us from shamed bad parts of us.
You're welcome to replay these two lists,
Letting yourself notice what happens internally and chew on what you think about the distinctions and the differences,
How they impact how we view God,
How we view people,
And how that would then affect the formation of our souls.
As we close,
Join me in this prayer.
Lord God,
You created us in your good mercy and grace.
Give us eyes to see the goodness of your creation,
Especially in the ways it can feel a bit strange with us as people being your creation.
It can feel uncomfortable to embrace that our being could be sacred or good.
Help us hold in tension the goodness of your creation alongside the reality of our need for you.
Move us from any rigid mindsets that don't have space for this complexity.
And in your grace,
Allow us to see and hold this complexity in a way that honors you,
Your creation,
And your redemptive work.
As we continue to explore the depths of our souls,
Align our hearts with yours to embody your compassionate and tender mercy.
Remove from us judgments or shame from others or our own selves that are not from you.
Amen.
