Website owner:  James Miller

Legitimate and important to consider the spirit of a thing



   An important spiritual milestone in my life occurred when I 
   realized clearly that it was legitimate and important to 
   consider the spirit of a thing and to allow myself to be guided 
   by intuition and feeling as well as reason and logic when it 
   came to doing things.  I realized that even if I couldn't find 
   any fault with the message and doctrine of a church, the spirit 
   of the church was even more important than its doctrine and a 
   wrong spirit was a legitimate reason for rejecting it.  This 
   realization came to me when we were going to E---- Baptist 
   Church.  I couldn't find any fault with its doctrines and 
   message, yet I just didn't like it; my mind couldn't fault it 
   but my intuition was against it.  And I left it because of 
   intuition; I left it because I didn't like its emphasis and its 
   spirit; and I had no better reason than that.  Since then I 
   have felt that it is legitimate to consider the spirit of a 
   thing (even though it is a rather intangible thing).  And from 
   there I have gone to the conviction that it is the spirit of 
   things that is really often the heart and core of them.  It is 
   the spirit of Christianity that is the real heart and substance 
   of it; it is the spirit of a person that is what is really 
   important; etc.. The real substance of a true Christian is his 
   spirit --- a spirit of meekness, kindness, gentleness, patience 
   and understanding. 


   Feb 1988





More from SolitaryRoad.com:

The Way of Truth and Life

God's message to the world

Jesus Christ and His Teachings

Words of Wisdom

Way of enlightenment, wisdom, and understanding

Way of true Christianity

America, a corrupt, depraved, shameless country

On integrity and the lack of it

The test of a person's Christianity is what he is

Who will go to heaven?

The superior person

On faith and works