Ancient Anglican

As you read through chapter 12, think about whether trials and hardships themselves are Good or Evil.  If they come from God, then they are the former but if God merely sends us the means with which to handle the trials, but not the trials themselves, then they are the latter.

There is a difference, therefore, between obedience grounded in love and obedience predicated upon power.  As you read through this meditation, think about whether obedience is a necessary good within a spiritual or ecclesiastical context.  Should we all be obedient to someone?

One of the great themes in The Imitation is that of simplicity.  Within Chapter 5, á Kempis writes of needing to have simplicity in interpreting Scripture – “for we should look for profit in the writings rather than subtle expressions.” 

Within these chapters, á Kempis emphasizes our humility, not as an end unto itself, but as the means of emptying ourselves so that we can, as Peter writes, become partakes of the divine nature (2 Peter 1:4). 

In our readings through the Imitation of Christ, our questions will not be what was á Kempis’s purpose or intention in regard to a particular passage; rather we want to look at how that particular passage speaks to you personally and ultimately transforms you.

Salvation is not about a change in location, but a change in being.  It is about restoring the image of God into a fallen humanity. The first step in restoring this image is purgation which is Book 1.

Merely reducing the work to the bullet points of its content impairs its overall message and power.  Therefore, approach the book with a contemplative heart and not an analytical mind.

As Jesus teaches us, for a grain of wheat to have life, it must first die. But upon its death, it is transformed into a stalk which produces fruit abundantly.  So with Jesus, and so also with us, that death is the prerequisite to an abundant, transformative life. 

The purpose of the Cross isn’t simply to overcome and redefine wisdom, evil, power, identity, suffering, ambition, and failure. Rather, the Cross does these things for the purpose of reconciling humanity both within itself and to God so that we may obtain the mystery of life eternal.

Through the Cross, our ambition is redirected from ourselves towards others and it is through the Cross that our failures, like Peters, are set aside and overcome.

Thomas á Kempis’ “The Imitation of Christ” does not seek to give us abstract knowledge about God but to guide us into a deep spiritual experiential personal knowledge of the Divine. 

The Cross, however, calls us not to an individualistic love of selfish ambition, but an ambitious love for others.