Do you think a spiritual person lives in a mystical state that counts this world as unimportant? The world has faded away as he gazes deeply into the spiritual realm. This is not true. The spiritual one has met the Divine and been reconnected to the source of life. How this has happened is not our question now. Just as he has stepped into the spiritual world. He steps back into the present, very much in this world.

Living in this world has meaning now. And he means what God means him to be. He does not make himself bigger but remains the same size as before. He lives life in a simple way. He becomes ordinary.

If you watch to see his spirituality, you will not see it. You will see nothing exceptional. He goes about his work without striving to advance at any cost. He knows the cost of trying to gain the world and has found it too much to pay. He expects little but is grateful when he receives something.

He asks questions rather than gives answers. He claims to know less than he used to. He was sure of many things before and was proud to give his opinion. Now he seeks knowledge and searches out wisdom.

His deep insights are gone. He doesn’t try to be profound but would rather speak simply and be understood. He is reluctant to use a big word when a smaller one will do nicely.

Why is this maddening person spiritual? He seems to do nothing important. He doesn’t stand out in a group but rather fits in without effort. When he says something, he doesn’t look around for approval. His words have weight but are not heavy for effect.

Now, maybe you have heard of Jesus. He was not exceptional. He may have said profound things but in a simple way. He spoke the common language not Hebrew. Yes, he did miracles but like prophets of the past and others of his day. Do you aspire to be like him?

Before he did anything that could be called remarkable, he did something else. He lived 30 years in an ordinary way. His brothers, who observed his life, found nothing exceptional about him. His own mother said as much as, “You are 30 years old and you have done nothing!”

But he turned water into wine, you say. But look at him! He responds as a son to his mother. Then he reconsiders her words and helps out a neighbor. If he could, he might have ordered some wine for express delivery within the hour. That being unavailable, he tells some men to go fill up heavy jugs with water on his mothers authority.

His disciples merely note this was definitely a miracle and the first. But everything else about the story is very normal. That a rabbi calls disciples is not even exceptional. It would be like those going off to a university because of a certain professor.

John the Baptist must receive a sign from heaven before he verifies that this is the One expected for centuries. Later, he wonders if he was right in doing so.

What have we learned here? That Jesus lived for 30 years with only his mother thinking he was exceptional. And your mother always thinks you are exceptional. And the man of great faith does not go around telling trees to toss themselves into the sea. He does nothing for dramatic effect.

The most amazing things about Jesus are footnotes. His virgin birth, his time of testing in the desert, and the physical evidence around his death are noted but may not have been know by many contemporaries.

The spiritual person has a hidden life with Christ in God. His life here is a witness to God’s kindness and love. His focus is on other people. He is like Christ in that he makes friends easily. He is a matchmaker and considers each person as a good match for God. Each one will know something different about the God that he now knows. And he knows that it is best for him to be right here, right now.

Home