The famed and feisty psychologist, Fritz Perls, was once asked by a well-meaning Christian if he was saved. He responded by saying, I am still trying to figure out how to be spent! A personal and affective relationship to Jesus is not, for a Christian, any Christian, an unimportant or negotiable thing. in Gospels, particularly in the Gospel of John, a deep, affective, personal relationship to Jesus is the central component within Christian discipleship and is an end in itself. We develop an intimate relationship with Jesus because that is an end in itself, the ultimate reason we become Christian.
Nothing trumps a personal, affective relationship to Jesus and outside of that connection we aren’t in fact real disciples of Christ. However Jesus, himself, mitigates any fundamentalism or one-sided devotional understanding of this by linking intimacy to him with the other half of the great commandment: Love God and love neighbor. Simply put, we show our love for God, our intimacy with Jesus, by laying down our lives for our neighbor. Christian discipleship is never only about Jesus and me, even as it is always still about Jesus and me.
Theresa of Avila suggests that we’re mature in following Christ if our questions and concerns no longer have a self-focus: Am I saved? Have I met Jesus Christ? Do I love Jesus enough? These questions remain and remain valid; but they’re not meant to be our main focus. Our real question needs to be: How can I be helpful? Fritz Perls simply puts it more graphically: How can I be spent? During our adult lives that trumps the question: Have I been saved? [Excerpt from Ron Rolheiser’s “Have I Been Saved?” August 2013]
