Introduction.
When we separate the sacred from the secular, and the spiritual from the physical, we create unnecessary burdens and lofty expectations of what it means to be “spiritual.” We are often told that a spiritual person seeks God with their whole heart, worships, loves, and serves God, thus bringing God glory. This sounds great, but because it is frequently divorced from ordinary life, it seems unattainable to most people. However, when we ask what these things mean and reframe them accordingly, spirituality becomes much more accessible. To do so, we need to start with the nature of reality to gain a clearer understanding of spirituality.
Conceptualization.
A basic theological premise is that God is omnipresent. This is affirmed in the Bible in verses such as, “All things are held together in Him” (Colossians 1:17), “He sustains all things” (Hebrews 1:3), “Christ is everything and in everything” (Colossians 3:11), and “One God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all” (Ephesians 4:5). The last two verses clearly summarize that God is all and in all. If God is spiritual, then so too is everything else. Nothing is apart from God.
Furthermore, we are identified as being one with God and with each other, as Jesus says, “I am in the Father and you are in me and I am in you” (John 14:20). Paul further articulates this by claiming that “in Him we live and move and have our being” (Acts 17:28) and that “one united with the Lord is one spirit with Him” (1 Corinthians 6:17) and “we who are many are one body in Christ, and individually we are members who belong to one another” (Romans 12:5). Oneness with and in God is a much-overlooked truth.
The logical conclusion of all this is that God is all and in all, and that we are all one with each other and one with God. Oneness is reality. Therefore, while we may experience a sense of separation, that is merely perception, not reality. The fullness of reality, on the other hand, is beyond the full grasp of our finite minds. We are unable to perceive with our minds the true nature of reality. Consider that the electromagnetic spectrum encompasses a wide range of frequencies, yet as humans, we are only able to see 0.0035%. Our visible experience is only a tiny sliver of what exists.
When it comes to spiritual matters, humans tend to be dualistic: there is the invisible spiritual realm and the visible physical realm. Yet, what if all reality is part of a continuum? That is, the physical realm is one manifestation of broader dimensions of reality. Under this perspective, just as invisible ultraviolet light and gamma rays are different aspects of the same electromagnetic reality, so the physical world is just a different aspect of the same quantum reality that includes the spiritual world. They are not separate but different manifestations or frequencies of the same essence of reality.
Accordingly, the visible world is no less spiritual than the invisible world. They are of one essence. This understanding carries significant ramifications for spirituality. Spirituality is no longer a connection to a different reality but an embodiment of the same reality. Irenaeus of Lyons (a disciple of Polycarp, a disciple of John the Apostle) said, “The glory of God is a human being fully alive” (Against Heresies 4:20). The Westminster Catechism defines the chief end of man as “to glorify God and to enjoy Him forever.” So, according to Irenaeus, the way we glorify God is by being fully human. We do not glorify God by being something we are not, but by being fully what we are.
To put it another way, the spiritual and the physical are not at odds; the most spiritual person is also the most physical person—they have incarnated God in the flesh. Indeed, if we are one with God, then we are God incarnated. We are the hands and feet of God, as St. Teresa of Avila famously said.
Let’s take this further. God is Love. God is Life. God is Light. Jesus said He only does what He sees the Father do (John 5:19). What does the Father do? He loves. As John wrote, “Everyone who loves is born of God…God is love” (1 John 4:7-8). When we love, we are behaving like God, doing the work of God.
Jesus said that loving our neighbor is the same as loving God (Matthew 22:40) and that every generous action towards another person is towards Him (Matthew 25). Every act of loving kindness, whether conscious or unconscious, is an expression of God and an act of loving God.
God is the source of life. As John wrote in John 1:4, “In him was life and this life was the light of man.” Paul further articulates that our life is in God (Colossians 3:3). Life and God are inseparable – God is life. When we celebrate life, we are celebrating God. To celebrate God is to worship God. Therefore, to enjoy and celebrate life is to worship God.
“God is Light, and in Him is no darkness” (1 John 1:5). This statement declares that God is all good. Light is a metaphor for many things: goodness, understanding, wisdom, hope, peace, and more. These are the qualities of God and God’s kingdom. When we seek these virtues, we are actually seeking the kingdom of God and pursuing God.
Conclusion.
The dichotomy between the spiritual and the physical is a false one. Separation from God and each other is an illusion. All are connected; all is one. A spiritual person is not one whose mind is in the clouds, but whose feet are firmly planted on the earth, who incarnates God by being fully human. A spiritual person is one who is curious, loves to learn, enjoys life to the fullest, is generous, and loves people and all of creation. This is what it means to seek, worship, love, serve, and glorify God. And this is attainable by all of us.