The Balanced Life

This Lent Urban Skye and friends will be seeking to practice “The Balanced Life”.

It is an ironic title for me. For several years I have reacted against “balance” as the epitome of human living as is so often suggested these days. If “balance” is akin to having “one’s ducks in a row”, then not only am I doomed for failure I am seeking a lesser good than the command to love one another. In other words, I’ve not associated “balance” with “love” (which shows my stubbornness more than anything else).

But the pursuit of The Balanced Life is not the precise ordering of our days, hours and minutes but the appreciation, the celebration and, yes, the conviction of God’s revealed ways throughout the centuries. We lose our balance by emphasizing one way to live with God at the exclusion of the others.

Some ten years ago, I found myself on a steering committee, something I rarely seek. This one, however, was a godsend. I helped organize (also something I rarely seek) a conference by Renovare, an organization dedicated to bring balance to the Church. At the conference different “streams” of God’s ways where emphasized. These streams, or traditions, are different dimensions of faith and practice used by followers of Christ over the course of history. Renovare identified six streams that will serve as our guide for the six weeks of Lent.

Contemplative Stream: The Prayer-filled Life focuses upon intimacy with God and depth of spirituality. This spiritual dimension addresses the longing for a deeper, more vital Christian experience.

Holiness Stream: The Virtuous Life focuses upon personal moral transformation and the power to develop "holy habits." This spiritual dimension addresses the erosion of moral fiber in personal and social life.

Charistmatic Stream: The Spirit-empowered Life focuses upon the charisms of the Spirit and worship. This spiritual dimension addresses the yearning for the immediacy of God's presence among his people.

Social Justice Stream: The Compassionate Life focuses upon justice and shalom in all human relationships and social structures. This spiritual dimension addresses the gospel imperative for equity and compassion among all peoples.

Evangelical Stream: The Word-centered Life focuses upon the proclamation of the evangel, the good news of the gospel. This spiritual dimension addresses the need for people to see the good news lived and hear the good news proclaimed.

Incarnational Stream: The Sacramental Life. Focuses upon making present and visible the realm of the invisible spirit. This spiritual dimension addresses the crying need to experience God as truly manifest and notoriously active in daily life.

For help in our Lenten journey, we are using three Renovare resources we highly recommend. These can be found on the Renovare website, www.renovare.com.

Streams of Living Water, Richard Foster
Devotional Classics, edited by Foster and James Bryan Smith
A Spiritual Formation Workbook, Smith and Lynda Graybeal