Finding Openness To The Spirit of God

A couple of years ago I extolled the virtues of a particular theological book that was focused on biblical interpretation on my blog, and then shared the post on social media.   

An acquaintance on Facebook, who disagreed with the author, took umbrage with my endorsement of the book and began what is commonly known in the social media world as "trolling" me.  

His rather lengthy and public rebuttal of my endorsement ended with this zinger:  "And I have to wonder why any real Christian pastor would need any other book other than the Bible to interpret the Bible." 

Aside from the obvious slam about whether I was a  "real" Christian, my acquaintance actually did me a favor.  He got me thinking about how and when I listened to God, a thought process that is obviously continuing today. 

In my acquaintance's mind, the only place to find the true revelation of God is in the Bible... and more specifically, the Protestant version of the Bible.  In fact, the Protestant reformers of the 16th century referred to this particular doctrine as Sola Scriptura (Scripture Alone).  

Unfortunately, his view blinded him to the beauty of God's continual revelation in all of Creation and stopped up his ears to hear God's constantly speaking voice.  

To that very point, the anonymous author of the fourteenth-century masterwork The Cloud of Unknowing, posed this burning question: 

How can your poor heart be so leaded and spiritless that it is not continually aroused by the attraction of God's love and the sound of his voice? 

I've come to believe that God not only spoke through Scripture but that God is still speaking in all kinds of other ways as well.  And to ignore this is to violate one of the most important keys to a strong and enduring Christian faith: Openness to the Spirit.  

Theologian David Dark recently wrote: 

"...good religion would be the work of developing, growing and deepening consciousness, not closed, shut, settled, rigid or done for, but one of ever-unfolding receptivity..." 

May you find openness to hearing God's voice today.  May you be open to seeing God at work in the world.  May you be open to being led by the Spirit of God to be more like Jesus--no matter where it led you.  May you be open to having your spiritual world turned upside for the sake of God's kingdom. 

And may the grace and peace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you now and always. Amen.