10 words from a modern sage that woke me up this week
"Once you become aware that the main business that you are here for is to know God, most of life's problems fall into place of their own accord."
J.I. Packer
"If you remain in me and my words remain in you,
ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you."
Jesus (John 15:7)
Last week, I got to spend some time with John Eldredge.
It was life-changing.
Not in the hyperbolic way we often use that phrase, but in the quiet, tectonic shifting of priorities that happens when you glimpse something more real than your daily responsibilities and obligations. It was also completely different from what I expected.
God dug a well of joy and insight that I will draw from for many years to come.
This time coincided with my reading of Eldredge's Experience Jesus. Really. A title that might sound simple and obvious until you realize how rarely we do precisely that—experience Jesus, really. Most of us settle for experiencing church programs, theological concepts, religious duties, or spiritual techniques instead of the living Christ.
The greatest takeaway from my time with him was the time spent in prayer together.
It's one thing to read an author’s books but another to get a small glimpse into their life with God. A startling amount of light came from the crack in the window he opened for me. It made me want to go deeper into my life with God. It created a fresh hunger to keep swimming into the deep end of the pool and away from the wreckage of shallow, modern life.
There is a profound depth to Experience Jesus. Really, and I honestly believe this will become a spiritual classic for generations to come. So, I thought I would share ten words from this book that I believe will shake your sleeping soul and call you back to the ancient path from which too many of us have wandered.
"THE TURNING OF THE HEART" (5 WORDS)
At its core, spirituality is about attention and intention: what we notice and what we choose. The mystic Evelyn Underhill noted that those who experienced God most deeply did so "not because He loved and attended to them more than He does to us, but because they loved and attended to Him more than we do."
The Hebrew Scriptures use the word "return" (shuv) almost a thousand times. This perpetual invitation to reorient ourselves toward God enables daily repentance and awareness of His presence, which becomes a haven in the chaos of modern life. Regardless of what we are facing—sickness, broken relationships, or a cycle of shame—the great invitation speaks into our circumstances that we are welcome to return to God for mercy and grace.
This isn’t primarily a dramatic outward change but an inner orientation of the heart. Like the prodigal son, our physical return is preceded by an interior turn.
You can turn your heart in the middle of a pig pen or the middle of the boardroom. It matters not to God. He is always scanning the horizon of life to welcome our weary hearts home.
It’s worth asking yourself…
Where has your heart wandered?
What preoccupations have displaced God at your center?
What lesser loves have become ultimate concerns?
The spiritual journey always begins with an honest assessment of our current location and then a simple reorientation toward God. All you have to do is turn your heart to Him.
He is slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love. He is waiting for you even now.
Turn your heart to Him.
THERE IS NO NEUTRAL (4 WORDS)
Our secular culture lives in the spiritual delusion of neutrality.
It tells us that at each end of the cultural spectrum are extremes to avoid and the middle is where the sensible self settles in.
Yet, C.S. Lewis reminds us:
"There is no neutral ground in the universe: every square inch, every split second, is claimed by God and counter-claimed by Satan."
For my Reformed friends, Kuyper echoes this idea in Lectures on Calvinism.
"In every domain of human life, there is a battle between two principles, two starting points, two worldviews: the regenerate and the unregenerate, the children of light and the children of darkness."
This isn't simplistic dualism but spiritual realism. The self that refuses God's kingdom doesn't remain independent; it merely changes allegiance. When Jesus said, "Whoever is not with me is against me," He wasn't being exclusionary but descriptive.
To opt out of the kingdom of God is to opt into the kingdom of darkness, even if we describe it as the kingdom of self. The kingdom of self is merely a small plot of land in the dominion of darkness.
John, the apostle of love, understood this: "We know that we are children of God, and that the whole world is under the control of the evil one."
Colossians 1:15 says, "For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves."
Eldredge notes…
The World as we envision it—society, culture, commerce, the arts—is under the power of the evil one, meaning it is under his jurisdiction, his rule, his sway. Which means this world that we so often perceive as relatively neutral is actually an extension of the kingdom of darkness. This reality is truly disruptive, even for many followers of Jesus.
I don’t think I would need to convince you of this if you were a Jew living in Nazi Germany or a Christian living in an Islamic regime. But many small European countries were hoping to remain neutral in the early stages of World War II, countries like Belgium and Czechoslovakia. Their fragile delusion evaporated when Hitler’s forces rolled in and swallowed them up in a day.
Our Western Christianity has made peace with the myth of neutrality, finding comfortable middle ground between the kingdom of God and the systems of this world. We've convinced ourselves we can serve both God and mammon by keeping them in separate compartments—Sunday faith and Monday pragmatism.
This is a delusion. This is a lie.
A kingdom of darkness. A kingdom of light. These are your choices.
Children of wrath, or children of God. These are your choices.
Heaven or Hell. These are your choices.
Life or death. These are your choices.
Choose today whom you will serve.
Declare allegiance to the kingdom.
Wake up from the delusion of neutrality and recognize that every choice moves us either toward or away from God.
There is no spiritual Switzerland, folks.
IF (1 WORD)
God’s love may be unconditional, but His blessing is not. We love God's promises but often ignore their context. There is one word that determines what we encounter in our relationship with God.
IF.
"If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you." (John 15:7)
Eldredge notes…
That "if" is revelatory. The refuge of God and his Kingdom is only for those who choose to take part in it. This fact is so irritating to human nature. We just want to get on with our life and have God cover us. That’s not quite how things work.
We've been sold a spirituality of entitlement; God's blessings without discipleship's demands. We want Psalm 91's protection without Psalm 91's requirement to "…dwell in the shelter of the Most High." We want John 15's answered prayers without John 15's abiding.
The conditional promises throughout Scripture aren't God being stingy; they're God being relational. Like any genuine relationship, our walk with God involves reciprocity, response, and responsibility.
This means paying attention to the conditions attached to God's promises.
It means declaring war on the lie of neutrality.
It means resolving to respond rather than merely receive.
Our consumer mentality wants benefits without membership, intimacy without fidelity. We're drawn to the promises of answered prayer, divine protection, and spiritual blessing, but we resist the conditions attached to these gifts.
The "if" of scripture invites us into covenant, not transaction. It calls us to resolve, to choose, to participate in our own transformation. It reminds us that while grace is freely given, it must be actively received.
This conditional element of faith doesn't contradict God's unconditional love; it manifests it. Real love always respects freedom and invites response rather than imposing itself. God's "if" statements honor our dignity as meaningful participants in our relationship with Him.
To transform "if" into "I will" means moving from spiritual consumer to committed disciple, tourist to pilgrim, and admirer of Jesus to follower. It means choosing to abide, deciding to dwell, resolving to remain.
In our age of commitment phobia, such decisive spiritual choices may seem countercultural. But the deepest joys have always been found not in keeping our options open but in giving ourselves fully to what matters most.
THE INVITATION
10 words. 3 invitations.
Turn your heart to Him.
Reject the lie of neutrality.
Choose to abide.
May God give you grace this week to transform "if" into "I will."
And may you know the reality of the promise that…
The Lord has made His face shine on you, and His face is turned towards you to give you peace. It’s the love of God shining in the face of Jesus Christ that is waiting for you even now.
May you experience Jesus, really, this week.
Cheers.
Jon.
Discussion Questions:
In what specific areas of your life have you unknowingly embraced the myth of spiritual neutrality, and how does that impact your intimacy with God?
How might recognizing that there is no spiritual Switzerland challenge your current approach to career, relationships, entertainment, or finances?
What subtle preoccupations or lesser loves currently have your attention, causing your heart to wander from wholehearted devotion to God? How can you turn your heart to Him in the midst of this?
If God’s promises are often tied to conditions ("if"), how might acknowledging this reshape the way you approach your relationship and expectations of God?
Reflecting on Evelyn Underhill’s insight that those who experience God most deeply do so "not because He loved and attended to them more, but because they loved and attended to Him more," what deliberate practices or intentional shifts could help you more deeply love and attend to God in your everyday life this week?
