Spirituality > Jesus?

Andrew Huberman is a brilliant neuroscientist and a globally influential podcaster. He covers a range of topics from depression to sleep, and his combination of scientific insights and down-to-earth attitude have gained him worldwide fame.

And apparently, he believes in God.

In a recent interview, he explained that the complexity of the brain simply demands the existence of a higher power. That said, he is unwilling to define who or what God is, and is emphatic that religion is deeply personal and should never be pushed on anyone.

Andrew's brand of spirituality perfectly captures the predominant mindset of culture today. It's increasingly rare to find hardcore atheists, but you won't find many committed Evangelical Christians either. The viral belief system of our day is a vague spirituality which, more than anything else, seems to be defined by a lack of definition.

Many of you have someone like Andrew in your life - they are spiritually open, but unwilling to define their beliefs further. The question is: How do you share Jesus with someone who seems both open and closed at the same time? I had a conversation recently that may provide some insights.

I was talking with a young guy named Matt after one of our evangelistic concerts in Argentina. I asked him what he thought of our show, and he said he was inspired by our message.

Matt was passionate about theater and wanted to use his platform to help people. I asked him if he believed in Jesus, and he said he was spiritually open but didn't believe in anything specific. I felt like I should challenge him and said, “I think what all people long for most is deep connection and relationship.” He agreed.

I continued, “This is especially true when life gets hard and we experience suffering. When I go through something really difficult, I don't need the idea of a person, I need the real thing. I need someone who can listen, cry with me, and understand what I'm going through. In the same way, it’s not enough to know God in an abstract way, like a subject or a philosophy. We need a relationship with a real person.”

I explained that Jesus came to earth, died, and came back to life to restore our connection to God. I shared how only He can fully know us, understand everything we are going through, and give us hope through it all.

I asked him if he wanted to know Jesus in the way I was talking about. He said, “Yes, I can feel what you're saying!”

We prayed together that Jesus would come into his life the way he'd come into mine. It was a profound experience.

While people in our lives might be resistant to absolute truth and defined spirituality, they are hungry for something real.

They have bought into the lie that objective truth and love are mutually exclusive, and therefore accepting everything as equally valid is the right approach.

But just like my friend after the show, if we take the time to expose the emptiness of ambiguous spirituality and invite the Holy Spirit to demonstrate His power, people will respond.

We live in a time of extraordinary spiritual openness. People are experiencing the hopelessness of materialism and are hungry for something more.

Now more than ever, we need to be gentle with people's doubts but clear with what's true.

My prayer for Andrew Huberman, Matt, and those in your life like them is that in their spiritual curiosity, they would find the courage to push past the superficial, encounter the living God, and surrender fully to the only true source of life and peace.
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To listen to the quick hit related to this blog, click this link: Is Being "Spiritual" Enough?