The mystics, and I consider myself in that category, sought after relationship with God through surrender and the practice of various spiritual exercises to increase intimacy with God. This lead to the development of specific practices such as Christian meditation, contemplation and the practice of silence. Many of them historically cloistered and lived in community or even practiced isolation in a hermitage. It makes me different sometimes and has been the latest development in my own spiritual life.
I recently had some time with a pastor who was the opposite
of me in style. While he would agree
with many of the things that I profess, he is also what I would classify as a
theologian. He is very concerned with orthodoxy
and a black in white biblical focus. We
had a great discussion on a variety of topics of faith and it was very productive. It was apparent after our time together that
we viewed the world through a different lens.
In reflecting on our time together I realized how much mystics
need theologians. Both are essential to
maintain balance and orthodoxy. Our faith
must be based on scripture first. While
a mystic provides the soul and passion of the gospel, the theologian provides
the guardrails. The church has been
fighting heresy since the book of Acts.
The early centuries of the church were rife with unbiblical teaching that
had to be corrected. The Church Counsels
were held to settle orthodoxy and correct error. The standard remains the test of how any
teaching or practice lines up with scripture.
Your spiritual experience is not the authoritative standard for truth. Man is very capable of instituting heresy into
faith with great enthusiasm without testing it against the Word.
As you travel your journey you will experience many questions. Your faith and hope will be tested. The Word of God is your source to test all things. It provides the precious promises for
whatever you need. It provides the
confirmation of his faithfulness and character.
This will provide an anchor for your soul when you are tested. Another consideration while secondary in many
respects is our own theological filter.
If your theology differs than scripture, then you have bigger
issues. But there is great value in measuring
your experience in light of your theological framework. A final standard in measuring your experience
is against historical Christianity. The early
church fathers and historical Christianity remain a great value in assessing
your experience. Ecclesiastes 1:9 tells
us that, “…there is nothing new under the sun.”
All Christianity is indebted to the work of the early church leaders who
defined the faith we inherited. They
faced many tests that challenged the scripture and early church tradition. They were the closest to the era that Jesus
actually taught. The reality is that
your experience is likely not new and there is a biblical precedent that has
value. It is important to respect each
of these. In your journey it will be
easier to have guides who have come before.
They give a path that can offer great guidance. Finally remember, it all begins and ends in
scripture.