Spirituality With a Hope and a Holy Unrest

“Growth in spirituality is never only a matter of confirming the known and familiar,” Charles Ringma states in his Dare To Journey (1992:110). He describes our life with Christ is more of radical transformation, a restlessness and a vision for what is to come, than contentment and conservation. He cites Paul’s words in his Epistle to the Romans saying: “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope” (Romans 15:13). Hope here is an application of joy and peace. God’s Spirit moves us forward, and thus, our spirituality grows.

Henri Nouwen tells us that “You are [a] Christian only so long as you look forward to a new world, so long as you constantly pose critical questions to the society you live in” (Open Hands. 1972:126). We keep moving forward being unsatisfied with the status quo and we keep saying that a new world is yet to come. Nouwen continues: “So long as you live as a Christian you keep looking for a new order, a new structure, a new life” (1972). 

Where are you in your journey with Christ? Are you in a state of holy unrest? Is your hope in the Lord moving you forward?