Letting Go to Receive

The most recent employee burnout statistics say that 75% of the workforce in America has experienced brownout. Over half of the workforce says that it is more difficult post-COVID to “unplug” from work during off-hours than before the pandemic. But, we are trying to work on it. We buy around 10 million self-help books every year…new ones, that doesn’t count used, borrowed, shared…. Why? There just are not hours in the day to do everything. Our culture honors achievement and defines success as superceding the previous records, while maintaining a happy homelife with a spouse who is incredible, children who are adorable and accomplishing amazing feats in their own pursuits, happy, wealthy, and admired.

Presbyterian pastor Graham Standish poses an alternate explanation. “Deep down, what is it that we are trying to accomplish?” he asks, “ Why do we feel such a need to do so much? The answer lies in one word: salvation. At a deep level, we are all trying to work out our salvation. We may not see it that way, but that is what we are doing. We are not only trying to find meaning in our lives, we are trying to accomplish, achieve, and attain things in live that will give us a sense of immortality and permanence.” We want to be remembered, to make a permanent, indelible, immortal mark on the world – through our work, on our children, and in our community.
But Jesus never said that our salvation was something we could achieve. In fact, 6 times in the Gospels, in all four Gospels Jesus is recorded saying the same thing: “Whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will save it, will find it. Anyone who loves their life will lose it, while anyone who hates their life in this world will keep it for eternal life.”

How? How do we stop living for the accolades of this world and find the wholeness of the life Jesus came to gain for us? Well, since we like self-help books, I decided to put it in steps. The first step, according to Jesus, is to lose our lives, to deny our egos their earthly focus. Our egos have three parts – body, mind, and spirit – and each of the parts can get out of balance and then one aspect of our ego overshadows the other two.

When we deny our egos and follow Christ, our bodies are a temple. The apostle Paul wrote to the church at Corinth about the importance of caring for our bodies as sacred spaces where the Spirit of God dwells. But when our identity gets wrapped up in our body, we become overly concerned about the physical, about our appearance or our conditioning. It is as if we set out on a quest for the fountain of youth. Why do we get so focused on our bodies staying young and healthy? Because we want to believe we can live forever, rather than live as those prepared to die. When we lose our ego’s focus on our body, our care of our body is motivated by wanting to be healthy to be able to serve God.

When we deny our egos and follow Christ, our minds are the mind of Christ. Paul wrote to the church at Philippi, “Let the same mind be in your that was in Christ Jesus, who…did not regard equality with God as something to be exploited, but…humbled himself….” But when our identity gets wrapped up in our mind, we become overly concerned about our goals, our ambitions, our achievements. It is as if we set out on a quest for the sword in the stone. Why do we get so focused on our minds wielding power? Because we want to believe that we can have an impact on others and on the world will be impressive and permanent, rather than setting our minds on God’s will. When we lose our ego’s focus on our minds, our pursuit of knowledge is motivated by wanting to understand God’s plan for creation.

When we deny our egos and follow Christ, our spirits seek peace and unity. Paul wrote to the church at Ephesus, “I…urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. Be completely humble and gentle, patient, bearing with one another in love. Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.” But when our identity gets wrapped up in our spirit, we become overly pious, legalistic and judgmental. It is as if we set out on a quest of personal salvation. Why do we get so focused on ourselves? Because we want to believe we can work out our own salvation, rather than trusting God to transform our hearts. When we lose our ego’s focus on our spirit, our heart’s desire is to do God’s will.

Here’s the thing the self-help books may not make clear. We are never done with the first step. Jesus calls us to lose our lives, to deny our egos their earthly focus, and over and over again, we have to assess and hold in check and at the same time move on to step 2 – to refocus our ego on God.

When we see our body as a temple, a sacred space and resource to serve God, how do we know how God wants us to serve? When we focus our minds on understanding God’s plan for creation, how do we know what is true? When our hearts are set on God’s will, how do we discern what God is calling us to do?

It’s a process of weaving Christ into every aspect of our lives. Christian philosopher Dallas Willard holds that the problem with the Church today is that Christians want what is right…we have good intentions…but at the same time we avoid committing to the kind of life that would make it a reality.

We want to gain the life that Jesus offers us without letting go, but our hands are full. We have to let go to receive, and there’s not one right formula for everyone. We have to pay attention to God at work in the world around us and calling us in particular moments to act.

“Take up your cross,” says Jesus, “and follow me.”

How do we know what cross to take up, though? We pay attention to joy. We notice what gives us energy. What lights the fire of passion in us? Our purpose in life is where our deepest joy meets the deep needs of the world around us. This is our cross to take up.
And how do we follow Christ? How do we know we are on the right path? Catherine Marshall offers 4 tests to ensure that we are being guided by the Holy Spirit.

The first is the test of scripture. Is what I am feeling led to do consistent with the life and teaching of Jesus, with who scripture reveals God to be? I was once asked by a middle schooler why the Bible wasn’t organized by topic so that he could decide what to do by looking up a topic. We want simple, clear answers, but most of the time in life, we are not presented with black and white questions. Reading the Bible to follow Jesus is not like reading a map, it is becoming an explorer. Or another analogy, becoming disciples is more like making sun tea than making instant team. We study the Bible, not looking for instant answers, but to steep ourselves in it.

The second test is the test of community. When I began sharing that I felt called into ministry, every person whose faith I looked up to said, “Yes!” “Of course!” or “I’ve been waiting for you to realize that!” Listening to the community to follow Jesus keeps us from getting lost as we explore, and gives us companions and encouragers to keep going.

The third test is providential circumstances. Whether every door closes or opens is important to notice. Are you running into dead ends or coincidence after coincidence that everything fits together? I call them God-incidences.

And the final test is your gut. That’s not what anybody else calls it, but when something is from God, it makes sense to you. You just have a sense of calm about the direction you are heading, a peace and resolve settles that is beyond rational explanation.

Following Christ doesn’t mean leaving behind your job or your family or your friends or yourself. It means holding your ego in check and balancing the aspects of your identity – body, mind, and spirit – and letting go of striving in a way that believes everything depends on you so that you are able to receive the Holy Spirit and allow God’s grace to flow into and through you.