What comes to your mind when you think of the inward
others first by not becoming disconnected within ourselves.
age philosophy? Do you think of suffocating, legalistic
its importance does not mean we know why it is important,
life? Is it new to you? Do you think of hermit monks in
the desert or recall church sermons condemning new
expectations thrust down on top of you? Perhaps restful,
happy thoughts come to mind but you cynically think to
yourself, “the inward life, what is that in my haphazard, tail-
chasing life?” Maybe your children wake you up at six in the
morning and you have no time to yourself until six in the
evening when your husband comes home from work to find
your hair in a frazzle, supper not on, children screaming,
and alphabet soup in your cape. Maybe your inward life
feels like scrambled eggs.
It is possible that some of us live such fast-paced lives
that we miss meaningful connections and inner growth. In
an effort to evade a growing sense of disconnect, we may
reach out to virtual sources to fill in the void, yet these
virtual connections many times compound our sense of
disconnect. Our sense of place and time is threatened.
Where are we and where do we belong? Perhaps we are so
out of touch with ourselves that we are incapable of deep
communion with anyone. Most of us innately long for rest
and order in our inward lives and true companionship with
others.
A well-cultivated inward life is one of the means by which
we keep the hairiness of life from wearing on our souls. More
positively, it is part of what enables us to know ourselves,
God, and others more fully. We maintain connection with
Most Christians and many non-Christians acknowledge the
importance of the inward life. Unfortunately, acknowledging
much less how to cultivate it. Many people agree that a
primary goal for the inward life is a state of harmony, of
rest and peace. This is good, insofar as it centers on God’s
intentions for us and carries forward into love—caring
and faithful action toward God and others. In other words,
the inward life does not culminate in “inwardness,” but is
an enabling way of being that sustains and refreshes the
inward while redirecting one outward.
A few assumptions underlie my understanding of the
inward life. First, I assume that I cannot ultimately take care
of myself; God’s grace is both saving and enabling, and it is
His work in me that ultimately gives me life, through and
through. All of what can be said about practicing the inward
life must be understood in this light. Many people stop here
and land somewhere near to Calvinist theology, making the
false assumption that if it is God’s work in us, then there
must not be anything for us to do. This is just not true. My
second assumption (I might call this one a conviction now)
is that God’s overarching work in the world is a cooperative
effort between Himself and his people. He expects us to
work alongside Him. I take this to be generally true. It means
that living in community is essential to growth. Third, being
is greater than doing. Again, many people find it easy to
stop here and land somewhere near to a shallow form of
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