Living in GoodnessSample

Immersion in Jesus

We all have stories we tell ourselves—about the world, about ourselves, and about God. But what if those stories aren’t completely true? That’s where Dr. Curt Thompson comes in. As a psychologist with deep insight into neuroscience and God’s Word, he loves to help people discover a fresh perspective so they can get unstuck, experience vibrant lives, and enjoy more authentic relationships.

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Immersion in so many things in order to be immersed, ultimately, in Jesus. First, immersion in a particular place and time, which, for me, is the same most days of the week. The far left side of the dark blue leather couch in our family room. The light coming into the room ranges from faint to bright, depending on the season. It’s always the early hours of the day. The sound I hear is silence until the first faint chirp of the birds begins. Slowly, at first and gradually over time, it will crescendo to a small orchestral production of a song.

The first 10 minutes of my time, comfortably enveloped in that space on the couch, I spend in silence, finding my breath—and the breath of God—as I seek to allow him to bring tranquility to my unquiet mind.

Then, further into immersion. First, in biblical texts—Old Testament, New Testament letters, and the Gospels. Then, immersion in texts apart from the Scriptures. Lesslie Newbigin. Hans Urs von Balthasar. Fleming Rutledge. Malcolm Guite. Ingrid Faro. Gregory of Nyssa. Comfort and conviction, all of them.

Then I write, longing to find and put to paper the words that are in response to the chorus emerging from within, to what I’ve heard, sensed, felt, and imagined. Words are written in blue ink. Waterman fountain pen. Smoothly rough course of nib on paper.

Then, immersion in prayer. Desperate, longing prayer that yearns for the Spirit to once again immerse me in Jesus such I may rise from my place on the couch and greet the world to, hopefully, offer to it what has been offered to me. Longing for the world to permit Jesus to do for it what he has done for me. Immersed in Jesus. In what it means to be loved. Love for which I will once again seek at this same place, this same time.

—Curt Thompson, psychiatrist, as told to Rapt Interviews