Anyone Who Fails To Go Forward Begins To Go Back

I've found myself immersed in books. From St. Teresa of Avila to C.S. Lewis. From Fulton Sheen to G.K. Chesterton. The beauty in each of the books I've read recently has been incredible and the truth astounds me. In each there is a calling to purse God stronger, to know Him more, to be closer to Jesus and be more like Him.

As I finished Interior Castles by St. Teresa of Avila yesterday I was struck by something she wrote.

"I repeat that if you have this view you must not build upon foundations of prayer and contemplation alone, for, unless you strive after virtues and practice them, you will never grow to be more than dwarfs. God grant that nothing worse than this may happen- for as you know, anyone who fails to go forward begins to go back, and love, I believe , can never be content to stay for long where it is." p234.

While she wrote these words, this sentiment is one of I've seen come to a head in both Catholic and Protestant Circles. The need for more. The need for pursuit. The idea that we can not be stagnant.  I've read books on both sides of the theological realm which call for this same idea. Just to name a few as this is by no means an exhaustive list:

Radical by David Platt 

The Explicit Gospel by Matt Chandler 

Not A Fan by Kyle Idelman

Crazy Love by Francis Chan 

In A Pit With A Lion On A Snowy Day by Mark Batterson 

Anything by Jennie Allen

Desiring God by John Piper

Chasing Francis by Ian Cron 

Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis

Introduction To The Devout Life by St. Francis De Sales

Interior Castles by St. Teresa of Avila 

Orthodoxy by G.K. Chesterton 

He Leadeth Me by Walter Ciszek 

The Joy of the Gospel by Pope Francis

They all disagree on dogmas and doctrine but all scream to run with everything you have after God. They push you to not just know Him but to serve Him. The above authors are in all sorts of churches from Calvinist to Catholic and everything in between and yet they all agree that there is more than just one prayer to be said or a box to be checked. They push and plead with the reader to move the heart and the feet in the direction of forward because again "anyone who fails to go forward begins to go back." 

How much would we believe it if a doctor shared the need to move forward as a statement about his practice of medicine. If he failed to continue to go forward in studying and research, he might fall behind the standard of care as it is always evolving. One might also suggest that he may forget some of the knowledge he does not use quite as often. Thus for all medical professionals CMEs (Continued Medical Education) is required. You are not meant to keep the knowledge you graduate with and not continue to grow and review. If you fail to complete the CMEs required they will not renew your license. So while a job in the medical field would require the same: the need to build upon foundations and practice to move forward, failure to do so would in fact move back. 

Our faith is much more vast than the field of medicine, much more intricate that the study of the human body requires the same. How can it be bigger? Because faith encompasses all that there is in the natural and supernatural world. So while science and medicine are classifications of the natural world, we believe many things that fall outside of that realm in the supernatural world. With over 2000 years of history, over 30,000 denominations of just the Christian Faith and many other religions and cultures to learn about the amount of information is great. Yet, the Christian Faith can be understood in as simple of a manor as the Creed and yet we are called to continue to learn and grow. While no one is required CMEs for the faith, God calls us to run after Him more today than yesterday. More each day. 

The sentiment in our modern world though is not to think, not to ask and not to grow on a specific path. As Chesterton wrote "They say that choice is itself the divine thing."  The idea we can choose anything and everything and sentiments that there is not really truth, just relativism has made a world of those afraid to think, afraid to purse, afraid to take a stand. Chesterton explains that this comes from a new definition of humility. "The old humility was a spur that prevented a man from stopping; not a nail in his boot that prevented him from going on. For the old humility made a man doubtful about his efforts, which might make him work harder. But the new humility makes a man doubtful about his aims, which will make him stop working all together."  I saw this "new humility" as my husband and I searched for answers and for truth. We were told not to "think so much." "Don't take it so seriously." If the faith impacts all that we are and all that we do shouldn't we think about it? Shouldn't we ask questions and run forward? 

Friends don't buy the new humility of the world. Ask questions. Look for answers. Pray, practice and grow. Don't keep drinking the same milk friends. Try meat. 

<3

Anita