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cant change in memory structures, grounded in the invisible God. God is immaterial (except for
the brain, that underlie one’s self-representa�- Jesus Christ, and he is now in heaven), and the
on and percep�ons of others (including beliefs, presence of the indwelling Spirit is o�en obscu-
emo�ons, mental images, and ac�ons, woven re—we are o�en not aware of him and neglect
into one’s narra�ve through experience and to focus our a�en�on on him, and some�mes
discourse) takes months and years of daily do- he just feels absent, regardless of what we do
ses of loving communion with God. Through (e.g., Ps 22:1). Remarkably, God himself told
new, repeated, posi�ve intersubjec�ve experi- Adam it was not good for him to be alone, whi-
ences with the triune God—the deeper and le God was with him (Gen 2:18)! Human rela�-
more emo�onally intense the be�er—new, he- onships, therefore, are essen�al to human flou-
althier beliefs, feelings, mental images, ac�ons, rishing, as well as soul-healing, and they are in-
and narra�ve episodes can be stored in one’s tended by God to be complementary to and re-
memory/brain that can gradually modify the flec�ve of our rela�onship with him. Humans
counselee’s damaged internal working model were designed to be concrete images of God to
(such rela�onal healing among humans has one another. In sinful and damaged hearts,
been called “earned secure a�achment,” Hes- while adult rela�onships can turn into idolatry
se, 2008). A merely intellectual rela�onship (Welch, 1998), humans can also be instruments
with God, based solely on conscious “head- in the Redeemer’s hands (Tripp, 2002), and the-
knowledge” (one’s God-concept; Moriarity & refore a means of grace to one another (ana-
Hoffman, 2007) is not enough to heal the un- logous to the other means of grace God has gi-
conscious regions of the soul (Coe & Hall, ven us, like prayer, Bible reading and medita�-
2010). on, and so on). Caring human rela�onships mo-
del communion with God, so that in Christ by
Consider, for example, the experience of adults faith they can become a more tangible, creatu-
who have been raised by chronically cri�cal, re- rely medium for God-centered soul healing, as
jec�ng parents, who o�en have within them- loving counselors and friends serve as signs of
selves a condemning psychological dynamic the triune God.
structure, some�mes called the “inner cri�c.”
Usually connected to and triggered by one’s
conscience, this structure can be a source of
frequent internal cri�cism that maintains ex-
cessive shame that is experienced as self-evi-
dently valid and “ego-syntonic.” A loving, inter- References
subjec�ve rela�onship with the triune God,
guided by well-interpreted Scripture, can give Bowlby, J. (1988). A secure base: Parent-child a�achment and
believers an alterna�ve, transcendent perspec- healthy human development. Basic Books.
�ve by which to view themselves, enabling Coe, J. H., & Hall, T. W. (2010). Psychology in the Spirit: Con-
tours of a transforma�onal
psychology. InterVarsity.
them to iden�fy, objec�fy, and then undermine Guntrip, H. (1957). Psychotherapy and religion. Harper & Bro-
such a “voice.” As they make progress in doing thers.
so, they can, in turn, draw even closer into com- Moriarity, G. L., & Hoffman, L. (Eds.). (2007). God image hand-
munion with the triune God, a reciprocal book: For spiritual counseling and psychotherapy. Ha-
pa�ern that can con�nue deepening indefinite- worth.
Spero, M. H. (1992). Religious objects as psychological struc-
ly. tures: A cri�cal integra�on of object rela�ons theory,
psychotherapy, and Judaism. University of Chicago Press.
Rela�onships with Others Can Also Heal the Stump. E. (2010). Wandering in darkness: Narra�ve and the
Soul problem of suffering. Oxford University Press.
Tripp, P. D. (2002). Instruments in the redeemer’s hands. P &
Perhaps the Chris�an’s biggest hindrance to R.
flourishing in this life is the fact that we cannot Welch, E. (1998). When people are big and God is small. P &
now have a concrete, tangible rela�onship with R.
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