Just this month my wife and I traveled to New York City to view Les Miserables on Broadway.  It's really the story of true Christianity and grace opposed to false Christianity and legalism.  One of the lines from the chorus of the Poor laments,  
 
"At the end of the day you're another day colder, And the shirt on your back doesn't keep out the chill, And the righteous hurry past, They don't hear the little ones crying, And the winter is coming on fast, Ready to kill." 

How do you know whether you are a  "righteous" one that ignores the cries of the poor or one who is genuinely a child of God, growing in an authentic spirituality that reaches beyond itself to others?  That is the purpose of Gerald R. McDermott in his book Seeing God--Twelve Reliable Signs of True Spirituality.   McDermott uses Jonathan Edward's views on true conversion but translates them into an easy-to-read, practical  and much-needed  manual on spiritual discernment.   

As we approach a new millennium there is much talk about worldwide "revival. "  In October 1997, Promise Keepers brought a million men to the nation's capital.  How many of those who made a commitment to Jesus Christ there will turn out to be the genuine article and how many of them got caught up in the "emotion" of the moment and will display little or no bona fide permanent change in their lives?  Thousands flock to various ministries to seek after an "experience."  Will they have a spiritual experience but not display the positive fruits that result from conversion?  Before reading McDermott, I hadn't thought about the concept that one could have a genuine spiritual experience, perhaps even moved by the Holy Spirit (as opposed to the exciting of the human spirit or the influence of a fallen spirit) yet not become converted.  The author points to the example of Balaam, who was given true prophecies concerning Israel, yet was far from regenerated!  He insightfully shows us that the Holy Spirit works in the mind of  a regenerated person, while He works upon the mind of someone not born again. 

His book has given me pause for thought in the area of discernment.  In years past, I have often gotten "vibes"  from people that later turned out to be rather accurate impressions of spiritual problems that they later more clearly manifested.  Whenever that has happened, I've had to resist the tendency to "judge" such people's conversion, something  McDermott warns us against.  He admonishes us to accept into fellowship and love people because we don't know their hearts.  Only God does. 

 In one sense, because I have been involved in an unorthodox fellowship (now orthodox), I began to doubt how much  discernment I really had.  I thought to myself, "How discerning could you really be if you were so taken in by false doctrines?"  I'm coming to the conclusion, though, that despite my previous lack of understanding in certain areas of doctrine, it seems that I have been, with God's help,  on guard against and able to discern in people many of the "unreliable" signs that McDermott mentions. 

Another of the "spiritual affections" that McDermott discusses is "balance."  Right now (and perhaps always) in Christianity there are the two extremes of emotionalism and what I call  "cerebralism," being so intellectual in religion that there is hardly any emotion at all.  Our fellowship is presently torn between those who resist any show of emotion at all and those who seem to be into the "experience" of church.  McDermott rightly points out the spiritual shallowness of both ends of the spectrum.  Neither the mind nor the heart are more important in worshipping God.  Both are essential to true spirituality.  McDermott walks the tightrope between assurance and fear of God, joy and mourning, love for friend as well as foe, trusting God for both salvation and provision, and public and private prayer.  When we see imbalance in any of these areas we need to be on guard against false or shallow spirituality. 

Another area of meditation stimulated by Seeing God is that concerning  humility, one of the "godly affections."  McDermott points out the difference between "common" humility, which comes from seeing the demands of the Law and realizing we fall far short, and the true humility that not only realizes that but also is humbled by seeing the encompassing beauty of God's love.   He also talks about the difficult self-denial of humility that requires that we resist our natural inclination to exalt ourselves.  Since reading that I've tried to analyze the things that I say and do that tend toward self-exaltation.  It's amazing when one becomes aware of the heart's deceitful motivations!  I'm finding that when I realize this aspect of my heart, it's easier to put a bridle on a tongue that seeks the approval of others.   

McDermott's book forces you to examine your motives in everything you do!  He really blows me away when he says that true humility is  ". . . the cheerful willingness to allow its own sufferings and achievements to go unnoticed."  I'm learning to allow the suffering.  After all, it's not often you can avoid suffering in this life.  But to allow one's own achievements to go unnoticed is exceedingly difficult for me!  I can imagine myself not wanting to share the results of an exam if I were to get a poor grade.  But to resist sharing good results is  difficult  for one such as myself who is so often motivated by the acceptance of others.   Both actions expose human pride.  God help me be truly humble.  God help my heart to have the right motivations! 

Seeing God is a must read for a Christian who wants to examine himself in light of the true motivations of Christianity or wishes to be more discerning in analyzing the fruits of today's evangelistic efforts.