So, how is the moving going in your life? “What!” you’re thinking! “Moving…I’m not moving!” Well, maybe you aren’t…but maybe you are!! The reason I ask this question is because in the book I’m reading for Lent, (Spiritual Formation by Henri Nouwen,) the author proposes that spiritual formation or spiritual growth isn’t so much about achieving stages or mastering steps. Nouwen states that spiritual formation is really about movement, such as moving from Sorrow to Joy, from Resentment to Gratitude, or as this week’s chapter states, moving from Fear to Love. Yes, I believe he is right, there is a lot of motion and movement in life, in growth, and in spiritual formation.
In the chapter about moving “From Fear to Love,” a phrase was used that really struck a chord with me. Nouwen writes, “The invitation of Christ is the invitation to move out of the house of fear and into the house of love:” (Spiritual Formation; page 78). I want to make sure you caught that - Moving out of the house of fear and into the house of love. Think about that for just a moment.
In my adult life I’ve done enough moving to know it’s a lot of work to move from one house to another. There’s all sorts of sorting, throwing away, and packing that has to be done in preparation. Then there’s the process of saying good-bye to the neighbors as well as saying good-bye to the home itself. Next comes the journey to arrive at the new home, the process of saying hello to a new building and neighbors, unpacking boxes and helping your possessions discover their new home in your new home. And finally, there’s the continual process of entering into the new home.
Now I realize I’ve oversimplified the moving process into just a few short sentences. When the reality is it can take months…even years to truly make the move from one home to another. Yet, let’s look at the moving process and connect it with Nouwen’s discussion of moving into a new home.
To move out of the house of fear requires a lot of sorting. If we’re moving into the house of love, it is going to mean there are a lot of old “tapes” or messages and influences that will need to be disposed of. Sometimes it is easy to recognize the thoughts and attitudes that cannot make the move. They’ve got to go! But of course, we all know that even after the move takes place, the sorting continues. There will be other items you’ll come across and wonder, “Why did I bring that?” and then simply throw it away. And that’s OK!!
There is a process of saying good-bye to the old neighbors, the people or structures that have kept us living in fear. This is real. If one doesn’t say good-bye to these influences, they will tend to hitch a ride and come along to the new home and take up residence with you again. Saying hello to the new home, the new environment in which one will live is also an important process. This means greeting and welcoming the new influences and making them a part of your life. It means finding a new place for the things you’ve brought with you to the new home and of course this takes time. Sometimes, lot of time!! This is all truly hard work because usually this also means that change is taking place in one’s life.
The final step I mentioned is continuing to show up or enter into the new home. Now usually this isn’t a problem because when I’ve moved, it’s been to a completely different town or city. However, one-time years ago, when we moved from an apartment to our first home, I got off work late at night, I was tired and not really thinking, and I turned at the usual corner…but it wasn’t the corner I turned at to go to our new home. I was heading to the old apartment. Yes, this can happen, spiritually speaking too. Old patterns, behaviors, or attitudes can pop up even in the most unlikely moments. We must be intentional about going to our new home.
So, let me ask you again, how is the moving going in your life?? Are you, like me, making the move from the house of fear to the house of love? I have a feeling this will be a lifelong move for me. But the truth is, if Henri Nouwen is right, and I feel that he is, we all are moving. Moving to new places of understanding, moving to new areas of faithfulness, moving to new ways of following and imitating Jesus. And through it all, we really are moving, not just into a new house so to speak, we are really moving into a new Kingdom. The Kingdom or the reign of God in our lives and in our world. May our combined prayer be, “God, help me move into the house that You build!”
Serving Together,
Pastor Keith