Sacred Companions – David G. Benner

I’m only a chapter into “Sacred Companions” by David Benner, but I’ve already been fed a wealth of clearly articulated insight and wisdom.  Here are a few quotes that I want to share:

“The supreme gift anyone can give another is to help that person live life more aware of the presence of God.” p.17

I often associate the best gifts with the best advice or a step by step guide from my own experience on how to resolve an issue.  I associate the best gift as being very tangible and concrete, like equipping someone with the tools necessary to complete their task.  But Benner’s point reminds me that the point is not to successfully navigate life with all the guides and howto’s of those before us, but to know God.  In light of this perspective, the supreme gift I can give to anyone is to help them live a life more aware of the prescence of God.

“If you are making significant progress on the transformational journey of Christian Spirituality, you have one or more friendships that support that journey.  If you do not, you are not.  It is that simple.” p.16

A lot of times I have the misconception that I need to figure out God on my own.  There are certainly times when you need to wrestle with God, but I think that those times are always within the context of a communal relationship with God.  C.S. Lewis talks about the idea that everyone brings out a special aspect of each other.  I will bring out a unique response from my best friends that no one else can.  Likewise–all of us bring out a side of God in how he responds to each of us.  That reality of how God relates to each of us uniquely helps us to understand and see more of God through each other.

“The soul’s journey in Christian Spirituality is a journey of becoming, not simply of doing or even being.” p.27

Sometimes I liken Christian Spirituality to the Nike motto, “Just Do It.”  But maybe thats an oversimplification.  Benner seems to be getting at the depth of the journey with this statement.  Failures, successes, mistakes and discoveries are all apart of the journey of becoming more Christ-like.  We aren’t just doing what we are told, and neither are we completely and fully being who we are called to be.  Instead we are becoming, day by day, more Christ-like.