Gospel-o-vert

Are you an introvert or extrovert? Do you get fueled by being with others or by being by yourself? Do others drain you or get you charged up?

As I’m sure you know, extroverts get their energy and heart-fuel from being around other people while introverts get their’s from being by themselves and “inside” their own heads. But don’t be quick to categorize others or yourself. Their are very social introverts (who need to get into a sensory depravation chamber after the party) and very quiet extroverts (who need to go to a loud and crowded restaurant after studying all afternoon).

Neither of these are right or wrong (though I bet most of us feel like our “-vert” is the best). Also, I don’t think that their are any pure introverts or extroverts. I lean heavily toward extroversion, but, after being married to an introvert, I have grown to deeply value my alone quiet time (as long as I can go hang out with a bunch of dudes afterwards).

As you look under the hood of these -verts, we get a chance to ask ourselves how and where we get our fuel. But the scary wrench in this engine is that both of these -verts are about me and my kingdom. What makes ME feel energized? What are MY preferences. There’s nothing wrong with our God-given tendencies toward inside/outside. But there is a greater heart-fuel, a greater hope, a greater power, a greater inner-peace that has a vertical power-line.

John 6:35
Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst.

 

Jesus himself, the Gospel in flesh, is the source of our true nourishment. Not being with others or being by ourselves (though those are important to know). But if we just focus on the E/I, we get stuck in everything being about ME. So my challenge to us all (especially myself) is to soak in the presence of Jesus…me in him and him in me. In my Gospel-o-version I can be all alone, but be fully with him; and be in a massive loud crowd while also being alone with Jesus. So regardless of how my relational circumstances, Jesus’ death has torn the curtain temple in two, unleashing the presence of God to swarm and surround me, giving me heart-fuel that can never be taken away.

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