The Frustration of Communicating Spiritual Experience

Christians desperately lack the precise vocabulary and the colorful metaphor necessary for meaningful discussion regarding the world of spiritual experience.   The body of Christ is subsequently robbed because spiritual conversation is difficult and soon degrades to topics that are easier to discuss.  Therefore, we must be continually creating vital language and emotive word pictures that can bridge the chasm of communication and understanding between members of the body, and we must also become skilled at the art of spiritual inquiry – asking facilitating questions that can help others explore and articulate their experience with Jesus and where they are in their spiritual journeys. 

I’m generally reluctant to ask most people what God’s doing in their lives because of the generally awkward deer-in-the-headlights responses I get from the unfortunate recipient of my question.  What frustrates me is not that God is not doing things in their lives, or even that they may not be aware of what He is doing; what makes me grind my teeth is that it is extremely difficult for most people to communicate spiritual experience, and it makes for many awkward conversations that soon end or degenerate to other things. 

A lack of vocabulary exacerbates the problem.  I understand that the Eskimos have 11 words for snow.  When you live in snow you would obviously develop precise words that would describe blowing snow, mushy snow, powder snow, big globby snow flakes, etc.  (In Eskimo, these snow terms are “blizjab,” “glushnov,” “blosnik,” and “globdish,” respectively[1]).  However, the language of those from the steaming Amazon jungles might have a dozen words for sweat, but they are simply not going to have many, if any, words for snow.  So then if someone from the Amazon goes to Alaska for a month in February and then comes back to the jungle, they are stuck with a vocabulary inadequate to even come close to communicating their experience.  How do you describe to someone who has never had to wear more than a loincloth what it is to be cold, so cold that you have to breath slowly so the air has time to warm in your lungs?  How do you communicate to someone that lives where it never less than 65 degrees that water can turn to a solid crystal, float down from the sky and make a 4 foot deep white blanket? (“BTW, for those living in the jungle, what’s a blanket?”)  This is the frustration of trying to tell someone about our experiences in the spiritual world, or trying to understand theirs.

For us we live in a very secular culture that has lots of specific techno language.  I can say, “In Windows 7, go to Control Panel  / Programs / Uninstall a Program, click on it and you’ll get a dialog box” and most people under 60 will know what I’m talking about and how to get there.  However, when we talk experientially (the key word here) about things like sanctification, abiding, walking in the Spirit and hearing from God, we simply lack precise and adequate words to be able to communicate more than a ghost image of our experience and where we are with God. 

Think about it for a second.  If someone were to ask you, “Where are you on your spiritual journey?” or “Talk about your experience with Jesus this week?”  What few, tired words there are available to you to use for response!  

“I’m learning patience.” 

“I can really relate to Job.”

“I’m trying to learn to abide.”

“Jesus is good to us.”

“I’m really struggling in my walk with God.”

".... (awkward silence)... Did you watch the game Saturday?"

I could go on, but it wouldn’t take much to exhaust our supply of stereotypical answers.

Could you articulate where you are on your spiritual journey in a way that someone could relate to you and understand you?  Can you express your experience with Christ so that others can feel it? 

To be continued...

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[1] I know that you know that I’m just kidding but I have a policy of saying it just so that there is no mistake!