JESUS SPIRITUALITY — free as the sky

Jesus was not a “Christian” nor did He found a religion called Christianity. Jesus lived an embodied spirituality that focused on pursuing union with God. Union foundationally with God, absolutely yes! But also union with ourselves, with others, and with creation. The world has yet to fully see what this spirituality of union looks like. . .

Jesus’ spirituality for all humanity can and should reside in all cultures and religions without one culture’s or religion’s domination and dictation. Jesus’ spirituality towers over any one culture or religion. It is clear from stories in the Gospels that Jesus didn’t force Gentiles to become like Jews or adopt Jewish ways of living. Jesus’ words to the Samaritan woman at the well has a universal message, “But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship him. God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth” (John 4:23-24, ESV). She remained as a Samaritan to follow Jesus (both in her culture and religion) and furthermore, shared her intimate life-changing encounter with other Samaritans back in her village (John 4:39-42).

The watershed moment of the Gospel breaking through beyond the Jews to the gentiles is well chronicled in the Book of Acts 15, the Jerusalem Council. The Council opened the flood gate for gentiles to follow Jesus inside their cultures and religions. Centuries later, when the Protestant Reformation took place, a similar movement took place in creating an environment where peoples could follow Jesus in their own cultures and religions without becoming “Roman” and taking on the Latin way of thinking and living. And now. . . I see another “reformation” taking place. There are many around the world that are moving away from institutionalized Christianity and other religions.

PEOPLE ARE DESPERATELY SEEKING

“Jesus spirituality” of pursuing union with God, oneself, and with all of God’s creation.

Jesus becomes absolutely central in the spiritual reformation and revolution. One cannot pursue union with God without following Jesus. Jesus with curt dogmatism and certainty told us that He is the way, the truth, and the life! Furthermore, Jesus modeled how to be in union with God. The Book of John traces and elaborates both plainly and mystically this theme of union with God and how Jesus went about this transformative journey, thus providing the blueprint for all humanity where no one is excluded.

This spirituality is not a one size fits all or some sort of cookie-cutter spirituality, forcing everyone to be the same. To be human is to be spiritual. The converse is also true, to be spiritual is to be human. Being authentically human means that we all are unrepeatably unique. Thus our “spirituality in the making” will all look different. At the same time, our spirituality all point to one thing: union with God. Ways to get to and experience our unrepeatably unique spirituality is to understand God’s unique creation, that is each and every one of us.

Pursuing union with God is not merely an interior journey of transformation. One’s pursuit of union with God naturally translates into outward contribution and benefit to the world.