One of the things we celebrate in the Christian life is the fact that we live all of life in the presence of God. That means that life is not compartmentalized into little narrow categories of secular and sacred. Which means we can celebrate all of life as a gift from God. In other words, it is okay to be human! If I fall all over myself to try and understand this and communicate it, it is because seldom do we see this reality celebrated in our twentieth century understanding of Christianity. I look at Church History and see examples of a believing Christianity that was fully orbed—earthy, real and embodied and I wonder when and why we decided to give up so much ground. I wonder if we simply do not have a taste or the stomach for a real robust, engaging Christianity.

The whole movement in our day is away from engaging the culture with the truth of Christianity and to retreating gladly into the dichotomy of secular and sacred. I suspect that the reason is partly fear and partly ignorance. Let me explain. On the conservative side it appears to be fear. It is easy to look at the world and conclude we must retreat from it. It is full of sinners, things that are immoral and things that will drag you away from the gospel. On the liberal side it is ignorance of the Word of God and ethics. The Bible is clear, there is a separation that happens from the world, there are right and wrongs, and we are not to mimic the world in our behavior. One side retreats from the world and the other side becomes just like the world. Neither of these points of view is biblical. Historic Christianity and the Reformation taught us a better way: all of life is sacred and to be engaged in, there are no secular things, there are only good things that people take and pollute. Notice the Ten Commandments, for instance, nothing is condemned as evil, rather good things are taken up and perverted by people with bad hearts.

How do we approach life? How do we live in the world with a passionate humanity and a conviction that is a radical departure from business as usual? It is obvious we need a new (or return to an old) vision here. Let’s look at how we typically look at life in the mundane and see if we can see a better way. On the one hand evangelicals typically experience life timidly. We tend to be afraid to enjoy life too much. We love it when we see things that reflect on our Christian experience, yet we can live so much for future glory that we actually miss experiencing the glory of God in the moment. On the other hand, people who have no faith tend to be total sensualist. They only live for the flesh and the pleasure that can be gained from the next new thing. Is there a better vision? I think Christianity gives us one to ponder that will both increase our enjoyment of our pilgrimage here and now and also make us long for heaven and future glory even more.

When we say all of life is sacred, we better mean it. We should not look at work, relationships, beauty, eating, playing, etc., as things that we just sort of get through, but which have no real meaning and purpose in and of themselves. What I mean by that is this – if feasting is a good thing, enjoy it and give thanks. If watching or listening to a great piece of art is a good thing, you do not need to feel guilty that you are not in a formal worship service or witnessing to someone. Being made in the image of God means we have the capacity to enjoy God and his creation by merely saying thank-you to God for giving us such rich fare to delight our souls.

So often we find Christians feeling guilty for being human, for thinking they are too passionate about some innocent preoccupation. Is this biblical? Did not Christ die to make us more human? Does a spiritual life with God mean we have to leave the world? Or does it mean we have to relate all experience back to, and with thanksgiving to the creator who made and redeemed us?

The true Christian experience enjoys a robust physical life and also sees all of life as a window into the realm of grace. Let me illustrate. When I say to my friends who are over at my house gathered around the table and hearth, that what we have experienced is a little bit of heaven, I mean it. What could be more glorifying to God as engaging in authentic conversation with friends over food that is both beautifully presented and tastefully prepared. Here I find in the mundane two things at work. God is both delighting me because he loves me and made me to taste, see and feel his creation and also I see what heaven will be like. It will be a blessed place with the best of everything. Is every feast done with thanksgiving not a little taste of what the great feast in heaven will be like? Is God not in this mundane way whetting our passions and appetites for the real thing? Is he not graciously allowing us to enjoy His bounty and goodness—now, when so much of life is darkness and tragedy? How could we possibly not rejoice? Do we not glorify God by enjoying Him?

I prefer the testimony of Billy Bray in Annie Dillard’s book, Pilgrim at Tinker Creek who says, “...I go my way, and my left foot says ‘Glory,’ and my right foot says ‘Amen’: in out of Shadow Creek, upstream and down, exultant, in a daze, dancing, to the twin silver trumpets of praise.”