Before leaving for our Spiritual Rhythms peak experience, Dr. Matt Dee taught a class on “The Good Life” in preparation for the retreat. This session has been one of my favorite sessions so far.
Essentially, “The Good Life” is the way things are supposed to be, also known as “Shalom.” Matt Dee quoted Cornelius Plantinga, who said that Shalom is “universal flourishing, wholeness, delight; the way things are supposed to be.” From the very beginning, God intended the world to live in a state of Shalom. The whole world has a specially designed way of operating that is good and, outside of that, yields chaos. This is the same for His image bearers. God designed us for a special purpose, which is to glorify him and enjoy him forever! This is our “Good Life.”
Essentially, “The Good Life” is the way things are supposed to be, also known as “Shalom.” Matt Dee quoted Cornelius Plantinga, who said that Shalom is “universal flourishing, wholeness, delight; the way things are supposed to be.” From the very beginning, God intended the world to live in a state of Shalom. The whole world has a specially designed way of operating that is good and, outside of that, yields chaos. This is the same for His image bearers. God designed us for a special purpose, which is to glorify him and enjoy him forever! This is our “Good Life.”
In this life, we will never perfectly live the way we were intended to, but I learned in this class that spiritual disciplines are a means of God’s grace in our hearts that can train us for Shalom. God has graciously has given us disciplines to help shape our hearts and minds. It is through these disciplines that we can actively commune with God and allow Him to do the work that only He can do through the Spirit that we receive from Christ Jesus. How amazing is that! I was also reminded that we have hope for when God will make all things new and bring all of creation back to His original purpose. I’m so thankful for Matt Dee’s teaching and how God used him to motivate my heart to seek after Shalom.
“But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God, the fruit you get leads to sanctification and its end, eternal life.”– Romans 6:22
Ben Porter, Class of 2027
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