Photo by Matt Niemi
As expressed by responses to our last post, a danger of 12 Step Recovery is that those who work the program can fail to see where the insights of its “cycle of steps” come from.
A similar danger is found in Bible study or church attendance that focuses on moral answers that don’t lead to reliance on what Christ has done for us… or on a wisdom that leads to pride rather than humility.
Ironically, real danger also lies in the thought that “all we need is Christ” to deal with any problem of our lives. Just as there is no substitute for trusting what Christ did for us, there is no substitute for the wisdom that the risen Christ wants give us.
Those of you who have followed this blog for a while know how impressed I am with the way the Apostle Peter ended up netting this thought out. We probably identify with him because of his “slip ups” along the way. He’s the one who told Jesus that he was ready to go to prison or death for him—just before cursing and denying that he ever knew the Teacher from Galilee.
But in time Peter seemed to figure out that faith in Christ needs a special kind of wisdom to grow. The result is that, with just a few words, Peter offers tightly connected insights that he says he wanted to keep talking about for as long as he lived (2Peter 1:12-13).
Again, Peter learned that Christ-centered faith in the power, promises, and goodness of God (2Peter 1:1-4) comes with a learnable/teachable plan in which each step depends on the prior—and leads to the next (2Peter 1:5-7).
Over time I’ve seen books that treat Peter’s “solution for a productive spiritual life” as if it’s just another collection of virtues. I’ve discovered the danger of formulaic answers and outcomes. But I still keep coming back to the conclusion that if any of the elements Peter describes is carelessly missed, or purposely skipped, we’re already stumbling…
Like 12 Step Recovery, these steps need to be worked for the rest of our lives. They need to be worked with hope and vision in the presence of other strugglers. And they need to be taken seriously in light of the fact that we are always in danger of slip-ups or big backslides if we don’t…
Like 12 Step Recovery, these steps lead to a “deliverance” that deserves to be celebrated and carried with a sense of mission for those who have not yet discovered “sobriety” and freedom in the Spirit and wisdom of Christ.
Can you see why I’m so intrigued with the fact that such words are attributed to Peter; that this is more of “a walk” than a “formula” for specific/immediate results; and that it can help us from missing the wisdom of “the Way”?
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