Why I Call Myself A Christian Mystic

On several of my social media platforms, I describe myself as a Christian mystic. People sometimes ask me what this means. I always direct them to the nearest dictionary.

  

Christian 

noun 

1. A person who believes in Jesus Christ; adherent of Christianity. 

2. A person who exemplifies in his or her life the teachings of Christ.

Mystic

noun

1. A person who claims to attain, or believes in the possibility of attaining, insight into mysteries transcending ordinary human knowledge, as by direct communication with the divine or immediate intuition in a state of spiritual ecstasy.

2. A person initiated into religious mysteries.

So that's what the actual words Christian and mystic mean, but of course, I still haven't properly explained what I mean when I refer to myself as a Christian mystic. Here goes.

First of all, yes, I am a Christian, and when I say Christian, I mean simply that. I don't identify with one branch of Christianity over another; I feel like I am holistically Christian, rooted in the essence of the faith, but drawing inspiration from its many variations. Basically, at the end of the day, Jesus is important to me: his story, his power, his love. I honestly don’t know where I would be without him.

And secondly, yes, I do feel like mystic is a decent word to describe me, by the above definition. My experience of my faith tends to be marked by mystery, wonder, emotion, and a sense of direct connection to spiritual realities. This makes sense because it is, after all, the way I experience life in general. Of course, I also go through periods of dryness wherein I feel distant from these things. On the whole, though, I think I have an unusually high incidence of what could be termed "mystical experiences," moments where the unseen world seems to suddenly unfold before my eyes, or an intense, surreal feeling of love falls on me out of nowhere, or I hear a quiet, gentle, piercing voice deep within my heart telling me exactly what I needed to hear in that moment.

My spiritual life is very important to me; I consider it the central aspect of my existence. It defines everything else I am, everything else I do. I draw tremendous energy from it. My prayer is that I will be able to share this faith of mine with the world, sometimes in words, and sometimes merely by my presence. I want the deep love and vibrant joy I have from Jesus, to spread to those around me, like an atmosphere of healing, peace, and power.