Diseases and Cures of the Human Soul
Craig April 2nd, 2008
Diseases and Cures for the Human Soul Pastor Craig Krueger
A few years ago I was talking with my then six year old son about hearing from God. His response was, “But you can’t hear God out loud like in the Bible, Dad.” Indeed. Part of the need for spiritual direction arises from two realities:
1. We cannot clearly perceive God’s communication in this fallen world, and
2. We are designed for a personal communion with God that goes beyond simply the reading of Scripture.
So Christians desire direction, communion, comfort and a sustained awareness of relationship, among other motives. This hunger for God has given rise to many historical movements. Two movements that I will draw on are the ancient (and modern) spiritual direction movement, and the more recent evangelical “spiritual disciplines” movement.
Purposes and Process
What is our purpose? Out ultimate purpose is the strengthening and deepening of the spiritual life of Jesus’ church. Spiritually rooted people will bear fruit. “I am the vine you are the branches. The one who remains in me and I in him, he it is who bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.” (John 15:5). So this introduction to spiritual direction involves three components interwoven together:
1. Identifying common “diseases and infirmities” of the human soul;
2. Discussing how classic spiritual disciplines can be used in “healing” these diseases; and
3. Discussing how a small group could address these issues in the context of a group.
One of the primary insights the Christian mystics and earlier writers bring is that the spiritual life is a progression,[1] with seasons of closeness and distance designed by God. These seasons are intended to build faith and wean us from various selfish motives. Although one could do this in isolation, throughout most of church history believers have realized that some group context protects us from extremes and fanaticism. The insight of progression in the spiritual life is crucial. For many churches who are heirs of the reformation, one gets the impression that since we have so much in Christ, no further effort is needed, and that any effort may somehow betray the gospel of grace. Not so!
So part of our initial task is to spark spiritual hunger within people in a gracious and grace-centered manner. This brings us to the brink of our diseases and infirmities.
Spiritual Diseases and Cures
There are many obstacles to the spiritual life. Growth in grace can be challenging for a number of reasons:
