Fully Alive 8

The glory of God is a human fully alive,” so said Irenaeus, and this line is both quoted and a theme for Trevor Hudson’s new book, Discovering Our Spiritual Identity: Practices for God’s Beloved.

Signpost #7: The “acid test” of spirituality is compassion and love of God and of others — and it begins at home. [For an assessment of how we love, see the post immediately below this post.]

How do you measure the “acid test” in spirituality? Have you had Trevor’s experiences here? Any thoughts to add to his?

Trevor tells the story of a well-known Christian — but whose wife said the difficult part was living with that leader on a day to day basis. Trevor knows this has been part of his own story too.

The theme is vital: loving others is the mark of the Christian (Jesus) and it is also the acid test of our own spirituality. We are to live a life of love, as Christ has loved us (Eph 5:2).

Few dispute this. It is easier to affirm than to do. And to do it begins with those who are closest to us.

Trevor suggests we need to begin with Confession (before God, and perhaps before others).

And a key ingredient in all love:Listening. Listening requires respectful silence to give the other person the space needed; and for us to posture ourselves to be listeners. It requires total attentiveness and it summons us to the appropriate response.

Genuine love is love-in-action and not just love-in-claim. Jesus loved in how he lived. This has to do with those who are closest to us, too.

Love-in-action with those who are closest to us involves down-to-earth and ordinary actions, like cooking a special meal or doing the dishes or taking a walk or clearing our schedules for one another.