Transformation: Consider the Lilies, An Invitation from Jesus

I have a friend who was getting coffee in Starbucks.  He was trying to put sugar into his drink at the milk and sugar station when, feeling rushed, he accidentally bumped into the man next to him, who happened to be a hippie.  “Oh, I’m so sorry,” my friend said.  “Hey, bro…” the kindly hippie smiled, “No problem.  Just be here now, man.”  A very kind way of telling my friend to slow down and be in the moment.  My friend turned to the man and said, “You’re right.  Thank you.” 

So yes, the Spirit of God can speak through hippies. 

“Be here now” is not a bad way of describing Jesus’ magnum opus sermon which we read in the Gospel of Matthew, chapters 5-7.  ‘The Sermon on the Mount’ is all about being present in the goodness of God and living an abundant life with your feet firmly planted on the grounds of God’s estate, what Jesus calls ‘The Kingdom of Heaven.’  Jesus tells us to slow down when he tells us to consider the birds of the air, or to watch the lilies in the field.  He calls us out of running around.  He calls us to be here now, which is always the only place where you can encounter God. 

The sort of unhurriedness that Jesus describes has to be practiced, just as the abiding which he talks about in John 15 has to be practiced.  Our hearts are inclined to avoidance and hurriedness, but through discipline, we can learn a new way of being.  Henri Nouwen describes what life can become as we practice unhurriedness and learn to live from our spiritual center.  He pointed to wagon wheels—long wooden tires supported by spokes which run into a hub at the center—as a metaphor for unhurried living: 

These wheels help me to understand the importance of a life lived from the center. When I move along the rim, I can reach one spoke after the other, but when I stay at the hub, I am in touch with all the spokes at once…What does the hub represent?  I think of it as my own heart, the heart of God, and the heart of the world. There we find the God of love.[1] 

It’s true.  If we live in unhurried trust, we are able to touch all the things that matter at once, rather than rushing frantically from one to the next.  We remain undizzied andunjostled, and from that place of balance are able to maintain perspective on what matters and what’s most important.  We are in touch with the Father, who is at the center of all things. 

Finding the love of God, which Nouwen says is at the heart of spiritual life, is, unsurprisingly, really what the Sermon on the Mount is all about.  In it, Jesus constantly points us to “the Father”: the Father who sees in secret, the Father who knows what you need, the Father, the One in the heavens.[2]  Living in unhurriedness is about having time and space to connect with this God of all life and love.

Ultimately, our ability to live the unhurried life correlates directly to our view of who God is and how much (or little) He loves us.  If you believe God is angry, absent, or ambivalent, the more compelled you will be to prove yourself and the less free you will be to live in unhurriedness.  You’ll also probably come to resent and perhaps hate Him (even if you are just, in reality, hating a false view of him).  If, on the other hand, you believe that God is good and holy, that He sees and loves you and has provided rest for you, then you will be freed from running around trying to prove yourself.  The pressure is off when you see who God really is. 

No wonder Jesus “often withdrew to solitary places to pray.”[3]  He was practicing unhurriedness and solitude and silence as a means of growing in awareness of his Father’s goodness.  (And we must train ourselves to live in unhurriedness, for it does not happen by default.)  At the same time, his awareness of the Father’s goodness compelled him to slow down and to rest, for his identity did not come from accomplishing things, though great things he did accomplish (and that’s no mere coincidence).  Unhurriedness and a high view of who God is go hand-in-hand.  One leads to the other, whichever one you start with. 

Quite simply, we do not leave hurriedness by trying to stop being hurried.  We leave hurriedness by coming into the knowledge that our Father is good.  It’s the same way we leave worry and anxiety and fear behind, not by will power but by seeing the God who sees and cares and is with us in suffering. In short, all transformation is catalyzed by knowing that our Father is good.

[1] Henri Nouwen.  Here and Now: Living in the Spirit.  Crossroads Publishing, New York, NY, 2006.  pgs 27-28.

[2] See Matthew 6.

[3] Luke 5:16

Transformation: Re-Arranging for Unhurriedness II (Rejoicing in Limits)

Beneath any practical change in our calendar, we are seeking a heart change, in mind and attitude.  To change your heart posture, start celebrating and giving thanks for your limits.  Give thanks that you can’t get everything done.  Give thanks that you can’t be everywhere at once.  Then (and this is big), start saying “no!”  “No, I’m sorry, I can’t do that.  I’d love to, but I can’t.”  For many of us, the fear of disappointing other people keeps us hurried.  But this fear of man must be rooted out of us, as the power of fear is subsumed by the reality of how great and how “enough” God’s love for us is.[1] 

Read the Gospels and you’ll see that Jesus, though he was the Son of God, often said, “No.”  He knew his limits. And because he knew his identity, he didn’t live in fear as a people-pleaser.  We simply cannot be all things to all people.  We cannot always do more and be more and have it all (despite the encouragement of the advertising machines all around us).  We must do what Paul told us: rejoice in your weaknesses.[2]  We must embrace our limits, as counter-cultural as that is.

Again,  spiritual life is incredibly practical.  I think some of the worse advice newlyweds get is “never go to bed angry.”  Sometimes the best thing you can do is go to bed angry and get some much-needed sleep.  There’s a good likelihood you’ll wake up in the morning with a clearer head and a heart that’s ready to address the breakdown.  In a similar sense, sometimes the best thing you can do for your spiritual life is take a walk, take a nap, drink a cup of coffee slowly.  Just practice, practice, practice unhurriedness.  You’ll have to de-associate your identity from “getting things done” or “having a lot to do.”  You’ll have to learn that Jesus has rest for you.  There is real work to this, and do not underestimate that!  At the same time, don’t underestimate the real and tangible joy that Jesus desires for you, and the power of that joy as it manifests in knowing, loving, and serving others. 

[1] For a great read on embracing limits, see Zack Eswine’s Sensing Jesus: Life and Ministry as a Human Being, Crossway Books, Wheaton, IL, 2012.  Especially ‘Part 1: Exposing Our Temptations.’

[2] 2 Corinthians 12:9

Transformation: Re-Arranging For Unhurriedness I (Adding and Subtracting)

We must “ruthlessly eliminate hurry from our lives.”  It’s the only way we can align with God’s desire for our lives.  Unhurriedness gives us space and margin to hear the Holy Spirit, through which we become anchored in His goodness and in our true identity.  It allows us to live for others, with time to spare for conversation and becoming fully present.  And it allows us to practice listening and responding, asking "God, what are you speaking to me?” and responding to our inner conviction and conscience.  

Unhurriedness is not just a posture of heart and mind, either. It means practical, transformative action. There are certainly things that may need to be subtracted from your daily, weekly, monthly, and even yearly calendar to live into the slow life.  You cannot add in unhurriedness if you are not willing to subtract something to make space for it. These subtractions may be big or small.  If you are making 6 figures but you are working 70 or 80 hours a week and you are constantly frazzled and tired, you may need to change jobs.  (That would be a big one, yes.)  Or you may simply need to delete the Facebook app from your phone, foregoing the dopamine rushes of having 18 notifications but, in a more-than-fair tradeoff, gaining more stability of mind.

You may need to set up boundaries with when and how you engage technology or when you get up and go to bed.  In this world of ever-increasing technology, we must maintain the ability to become bored. Temporary boredom is just a sign that we are moving at a healthy pace. That we are not allowing every spare space or moment of time to be filled. I have a rule for my order of life that I do not get on my phone before 9 am (I get up at 6 or 7), and I’m not on it or any other screen after 8 pm, except for urgent calls or messages.  Start small, but start concretely with something with which you can generate a win that feeds and satisfies your soul.  You will likely find that healthy rules can generate freedom.

In addition to subtracting, you may need to add. You may need to add a day off or a half-hour of reading in the morning or a quiet walk around your neighborhood every day.  Again, be practical, be concrete, and start small, confident that any practice that helps us slow down can become a habit that leads to a grounded life, empowered by God to make present love and grace for others. 

Jesus, Luke tells us, often withdrew to quiet, solitary places to pray.  What do we do?