True Spirituality is . . . Messy (1)

I will begin a series of reflections on the nature of true spirituality. Here is the first!

Christianity is not pretty. Too many Christians act as if the goal of following Christ is to become a person who is beyond pain, failure and suffering. In reality, the life of holiness is not only one of repentance and belief, but of messy failure and suffering that is at times maddeningly confusing. Messy Spirituality is a spirituality that is fervent for Christ and his Word, able to laugh at itself and its pretentiousness, aware of masks and false selves and unabashedly real before the healing love of Christ.

Mike Yaconelli, in his wonderful book Messy Spirituality: God's Annoying Love for Imperfect People writes:
“Spirituality is not a formula; it is not a test. It is a relationship. Spirituality is not about competency; it is about intimacy. Spirituality is not about perfection; it is about connection. The way of the spiritual life begins where we are now in the mess of our lives. Accepting the reality of our broken, flawed lives is the beginning of spirituality not because the spiritual life will remove our flaws but because we let go of seeking perfection and, instead, seek God, the one who is present in the tangledness of our lives. Spirituality is not about being fixed; it is about God’s being present in the mess of our unfixedness” (13).