Tolerance, Taste, and Spirituality

I love food too much.  But it wasn't always this way.  Growing up as a kid I was a very picky eater.  There are many, many foods today that I love but thought were gross growing up.  I learned once that the reason your tastes change over the years is because of a change in your taste buds.  When you are young, your taste buds are more sensitive, therefore foods with a more powerful flavor can be overwhelming.  But with age, your tastebuds loose their sensitivity and those foods become more enjoyable.

I remember walking through the Publix grocery store a couple of weeks ago and picking up a sample of lemon-encrusted tilapia on linquini noodles cooked in wine.  I wanted to pull a coup on the sample stand and take it over for myself.  It was amazing.  Lynn also makes an amazing lemon-pepper tilapia which we enjoyed last night.  I'm finding that the more flavorful a food is, the more I am enjoying it while I am becoming more and more bored with foods I used to enjoy.

This thought kind of reminds me of something we were taught in health class in high school when the lessons were about the dangers of drugs.  We were taught that over time, the body builds up a tolerance to certain drugs, so stronger and stronger ones must be sought out for the same high.  On the positive side, the body builds up a tolerance to beneficial drugs over time and we must use stronger and stronger ones to fight illness.

Where am I going with this?

A similar thing has been occuring with me on a spiritual level.  When I first became a follower of Christ, my life exploded with new spiritual flavors, tastes, and sensations.  The first few years were amazing.  Nearly every time I went to church I could sense the presence of God all around me and could easily be brought into an intense time of worship.  Listening to sermons or worship songs in my truck or in my home or...anywhere...would often impact me in powerful ways.

I think my spiritual tastebuds are losing sensitivity.  I think my heart and mind have built up a tolerance.  Because those same things now leave me feeling empty, tired, and bored.  It's not because I'm losing my faith.  My desire for a holy invasion and occupation of my life is stronger now than ever.  I'm not sure of the reason.  The church we are in now is the best church I've known in my 22 years of being a Christian.  The worship team is great.  The preaching and teaching are outstanding.  Yet I remain unmoved, unstirred, and starving for...something.  I don't even listen to Christian music outside of church anymore because it all seems so...cliche.

This is the reason that I'm finding such an attraction to other streams of Christianity, like Celtic Christianity, that lead us into knowing how to experience and live in the presence of God in all of life, not just the ecclesiastical setting.  I've always sensed the presence of God in more powerful ways in nature than in a sanctuary.  My most spiritually powerful experiences of community have been in informal gatherings of brothers and sisters around meals and unscripted time together rather than programmed, time-restricted, scheduled small groups.

I would fit very well in a Celtic Christian setting.  Unfortunately, Lynn and I would have to move to Ireland to find it.  The practices and community ethos in Celtic Christian spirituality that have always resonated so deeply with me are not to be found in American church systems and structures.

Let me be clear, that what I am talking about is not about emotionalism.  I really am not interested in the manufactured, anemic emotionalism offered by and practiced in many religious settings.  I'm interested in something much more deep, holy, mind-renewing, and heart-transforming than mere emotionalism.

I know that many, many people are profoundly moved into meaningful relationship with God and others through their church services and programming.  I was once one of them.  So I believe this is more an issue of what God is doing...or is trying to do...to bring me into...something.  Perhaps others have experienced in their walk with Christ what I am experiencing now as I approach 40 years of age in the Bible Belt of America.  If so, I'd love to hear from you.

Comments

[Lee Combs]

I relate to your post deeply and to Celtic Christianity. I believe there is a spiritual evolution devoloping. We are being led by spirit/intuition to a deeper relationship. Open yourself to it. Forget all the rules and old beliefs and open to your new revelation.

[Bill Huffhine]

Hi Patti!

Yes, you are correct. Everything that our hearts long long for is found in Jesus Christ. Although there are some streams of Christian spirituality that lead you into religious repetition. And there are those which lead you into a dynamic relationship with lover of our souls. I'm weary of the former and am searching for the latter.

[Patti Blount]

Yes, Bill, I have felt a desire for more, but I believe that it will come, not in seeking out a new (although old) stream of Christian thought, but in plumbing the depths of the person of Jesus Christ. I find that whenever I stray from that course, it not only wastes time, but it usually ends in dissatisfaction. Now, how to do that is another story. He teaches us to seek and plumb Him and get rid of the other stuff in us that is carnal, so that we can progressively be satisfied with and in Him. Patience is the word. We get restless (like I am now) and then want to create something or find something new, because we grow weary of waiting, and it is that very thing that God uses to develop us. We forget about "waiting on the Lord," because it is sooooooooo hard, but I look forward to the day when I will mount up on wings of eagles, when I will not grow weary or not faint, and when the circumstances of life are far below me as I will be flying high with Him.