Spiritual Direction
When we receive Christ as Savior, the Holy Spirit comes to live in us.[1] Question: What part of us? How we answer has significant implications for the way we conceive of and experience our relationship with Jesus.
The Bible suggests that the Holy Spirit resides at the center of a self shaped by our entire life development process. This includes every dimension of our inner being: thinking, self-esteem, sexuality, disabilities, emotions, perceptions, longings, virtues, family dynamics, motivation, intelligence, lies we believe, fears, affections, hopes, dysfunctions, conscience, addictions, failures, self-concept, memories, personality, habits, will, strengths, co-dependencies, how we value things, weaknesses, boundaries, etc.
Jesus’ invitation to make our home in him involves the whole person. This can feel very uncomfortable for those whose faith is primarily a cognitive affair. We’ll explore this in the coming weeks.
Exploring
The Bible provides practical insight into the dynamics of the inner person, regularly referred to as the “heart.”[2] The most frequent Old Testament word for “heart” (leb) occurs at least 850 times. The heart was considered the location of every interior activity. The Greek word kardia, “heart,” appears at least 210 times in the New Testament and refers to the center of our emotional and spiritual life. This inner life is the core of who we are and becomes the domain of the Holy Spirit.
Question
In what ways has your life development process shaped how you relate to Jesus today?