I haven't posted very much recently for I have been consumed with completing two 20-25 page papers for my Doctor of Ministry studies. As I write this, I have less that 16 hours before they both must be mailed. One is finished and another has a ways to go. It's looking like an all-nighter and I'm BAD at all-nighters.
So, I'm taking a brief (VERY BRIEF) break and want to pass on some of what I've written.
We create space for God and his transforming work as we create space for his Word in our hearts and minds by his Spirit. These thoughts are not new to me and they’re certainly not new to the world of spiritual formation. God has uniquely ordained the Scriptures as a means by which he mediates his presence and ongoing work in us. To create space for his Word is to open ourselves to the coming of Christ in our lives. It is no accident that Jesus Christ is referred to as the Word. All of this is only possible by the work of the Holy Spirit for we cannot generate and create our own transformation. It is a grace received and the posture of reception is one of openness to this work of the Trinity.
Creating space, as a working image, speaks to at least three issues. First, one needs to literally set aside both time and space in order to receive. When we do so, we affirm our place in God’s world. And God has embraced this physicality which is connected to the spiritual life in his incarnation. Jesus, God in the flesh, came into time and space and regularly “created space” to be with his Father.
Secondly, we remove that which is filling the space in our hearts and mind which is not God. This can be anything from acts of purgation to strip all that hinders to simple words yielding up to God what is filling our hearts or preoccupying our minds in his place. We create space by destroying the idols we hold so dear. We create space by setting aside those good things that are just the gifts and not the Giver. We create space by intentionally yielding to God’s cleansing and transforming work.
Thirdly (and following from the second point), we must allow at least some of the created space to continue to be space. We do not fill this space with our words, our thoughts or even our study. Of course there must be a place for speaking to God, for thinking and for careful study. But it is not the role of created space. Silence. Waiting. Listening. These allow the space to be space.
Spiritual practices and rhythms such as lectio divina provide an intentional way to create space that encompasses all three of these issues. They require time and take place in the physical world. They demand focused presence free from any and all distractions. They are a place where we are spoken to rather than doing the speaking. The best of these practices incorporate the Scriptures as an essential means by which we listen and wait.
On a theological note I believe that “creating space” may be at the heart of how we cooperate with God in our spiritual formation. This is something that we do and it is essential for our growth, whatever form it takes. But the space itself has no merit and no inherent value. Much contemporary so-called spirituality is built on activities and practices designed to create space. But then either the space is just filled with the self or is simply valued in its own right. There is no openness to the God of the universe as revealed in Scripture. The wild, uncontrolled, untamed and boundlessly loving incoming of God into our created space is what makes this practice distinctly Christian. All the merit, all the value, all the abundance of God himself is provided by God alone. It is the integration with Scripture that assures that this practice is in fact an opening to the transforming work of the Father, Son and Spirit.
If we do not "create space" for God, we can delude ourselves into thinking that we are hearing from Him when in fact it is just our own self-mumbling.
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