In a world of constant noise, John Eldredge’s Experience Jesus, Really invites believers into a deeper, more personal encounter with God. Blending mysticism, spiritual reflection and everyday faith, it’s a book that challenges sceptics to slow down and truly abide
“Lord, to whom shall we go?” was the rhetorical question asked by the Apostle Peter to the Lord Jesus, in response to his own question to Peter and the disciples about whether they wanted to join the crowds of people who abandoned the call to follow him.
“You have the words of eternal life” was the reason Peter gave for sticking around. It’s the same reason I’ve kept walking this narrow path. But there is a difference between staying because there is nowhere else to go versus staying because you enjoy being here.
It is this gap that John Eldredge seeks to bridge in his latest book Experience Jesus, Really (Thomas Nelson Publishers).
The book’s subtitle offers “refuge, strength, and wonder through everyday encounters with God,” and I experienced all of these as I read. This is probably intentional, given that the author is keen to promote his vision of “ordinary mysticism”.
Ordinary mysticism, Eldredge argues, is the essence of the Christian life. Whereas the prevailing assumption about mystics is that they are special people who are mostly found in monasteries, Eldredge stresses that every believer ought to be one by default. This is because the essence of the gospel - that Christ came into the world to save us from our sin and unite us to God - is a mystery. Everything about the Christian life - from justification and salvation to sanctification and glorification, is a mystery. God is a mystery! To live with that awareness is to be deeply attuned to the holy, finding peace and joy in his presence.
Ordinary mysticism, Eldredge argues, is the essence of the Christian life
In other words, ordinary mysticism is obeying Jesus’ call to come to him as a child, setting aside our need to know everything, a trait of what Eldredge calls “Disciples of the Internet”. We are, instead, to look to the Lord and wait on him for our every need, something that does not come naturally to those of us shaped by a microwave culture. Ordinary mysticism, then, is about living with a visceral sense of the presence of the Kingdom of God here and now, even while we await its consummation upon the return of the king.
Experiencing Jesus is the key to knowing stillness and stability in a chaotic and ever-changing world. It’s how we find safety in uncertainty and healing amid our deepest fears. As we abide in he who is the vine to our branches, he gives us life and abundantly so, freeing us to move with confidence as we navigate the “already but not yet” reality of Kingdom life.
As a mental health advocate, this book caught me by surprise. I didn’t expect to have my inner child softly summoned in pages that I initially approached with the unfeeling, analytical eye of an intellectual. I didn’t expect that she would encounter the God of the First Move, who has been trauma-informed from the beginning, and who has made provision for her safe and accompanied arrival unto the end. I didn’t expect my over-reliance on psychological therapies to be exposed and answered with a gentle reminder that God still heals “the young places” in people all over the world who cannot access those tools, however helpful they have been for me.
Regardless of my internal struggle with the idea of spiritual warfare, I am ever confronted by the fact that it is a biblical concept to which I must continue practising embedding in my worldview. This is something that will only happen through intentional efforts to slow down and withdraw from the noise and pace of the world, to instead spend time in prayer and reflection on the Word and wonders of God. In this way, the book is strongly reminiscent of Tish Harrison Warren’s Liturgy of the Ordinary, which explores the cultivation of a worshipful heart in small, everyday ways. Despite being published later, Experience Jesus, Really is perhaps the beginner’s manual for embracing life as an ordinary mystic whose fellowship with God deepens over time through simple, daily practices.
I am grateful for the author’s patient attempts to guide natural sceptics like myself through these issues. I give thanks to the one who adopted me as his child, and beckons me to come to him, with all compassion, gentleness and patience as I learn each moment to believe while he helps my unbelief. I’ve experienced Jesus. Really.
Experience Jesus, Really by John Eldredge is out now
No comments yet