Spirit and Spirituality

I'm currently reading Dallas Willard's recent book, The Great Omission. The title of the book is a take-off of "The Great Commission" based on Matthew 28:19-20, "Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations..." The Great Omission is the churches not making disciples.

In Chapter six Willard addresses the issues of spirit, and spirituality. He defines spirit as "unbodily personal reality and power" (47). He writes, "Spirit can enter into and act with body (as is also the case with the human spirit), but it is not from body, even in the human case. It does not derive from the physical" (48).

Concerning spirituality, Willard writes that it "usually refers to a human dimension, not to the power of God...as that term has now come to be used, [it] simply refers to a way of conducting religious life. A spirituality may then be no more than an exercise of human abilities" (49). He then says that our spirituality which all humans have is like a vessel, and "the treasure is the life and power of Jesus Christ" (50).

Whatever our spirituality, the focus needs to be on Jesus and our desire and will to obey Jesus is crucial. Otherwise, we end up with a very impoverished faith life. He writes a strong critique of what he sees that passes for a lot of Christian spirituality:

But spirituality in many Christian circles has simply become another dimension of Christian consumerism. We
generated a body of people who consume Christian services and think that that is
Christian faith. Consumption of Christian services replaces obedience to Christ.
And spirituality is one more thing to consume (52).