We have become increasingly outward focused within the church. This is a good thing. Christians are confronting social injustice all over the globe. Whether it's erecting an orphanage (Asia's Hope) or establishing mirco-finance programs (Hope International) for families in under-developed countries or providing clean water (Rwanda Clean Water) for entire villages, the focus of many Christians is ferociously outward.
But is there a point when being socially aware becomes trendy? I've asked some church leaders and they are fine with social awareness becoming trendy. It's been dead in the church for far too long. They make a great point.
But what about the inward person? What of the spiritual encounter we have on a daily basis? How is that faring these days? How do we find that harmonic tension of knowing and doing? Richard Foster finds answers to these questions within the idea of simplicity ... living from your "Divine center."
The trap that Christians have fallen into for so long is the trap of the naval gaze. Too much inward concentration can border on self-centeredness. Yet, at the same time, in order to be effective on the outside we must seek God diligently on the inside.
Foster suggests that we seek "holy obedience" through inward simplicity.
Holy obedience is the insatiable God-hunger that will make a person dissatisfied with anything less than the pearl of great price. ... It is the obedience of an Abraham willing to plunge the knife into his own dear son at the Kol Yahweh, the voice of the Lord.
Here we see a person whose thirst for God is displayed through unwavering obedience ... or action.
But how do we get to the point where we have simplified our hearts to where we can pant wildly for God in our actions? The idea that Foster gives us is that we let go of self-intoxicating material things.
My original thought centered on "massive event dynamics." So often we can get caught up in the show of Christian events without realizing that getting super-charged over three days does not, necessarily, make us more equipped for holy obedience. As Foster reminds us, we must pull ourselves away and seek the freedom that comes from inward simplicity. When we live from our Divine center, then our outward expressions take on new meaning and fresh dynamics.
