In light of Jesus’ resurrection and the spiritual battle for every soul that has ever lived, I have long strived to transcend the trite challenges, annoyances and even deep pains of this life. I was recently convicted that I have often opted to detach rather than transcend.
To transcend is to rise above or go beyond the limits. It is to triumph over the negative or restrictive aspects of life.
To detach is to separate, to release from something that engages.
Buddhism teaches that by mentally and emotionally detaching, we can weather the inherent suffering of this life unaffected and thus achieve peace and contentment. I confess that I have been more Buddhist than Christian when it comes to dealing with suffering.
How do I repent of detachment and embrace transcendence? They seem so similar and yet are so opposite. To detach is to avoid, ignore, disengage, and passively not care. But to transcend is to face suffering, to engage and triumph, to kinetically care without bounds. To love invincibly.
Is it possible to vulnerably love without limits and not be destroyed or overcome by the pain and suffering associated with love and loss and failure? I suppose that is where Jesus comes in. Right? I mean, as a Christian that is what I am supposed to say, but I think I believe it too. It has to be true. If it is not, then I am forever lost.
Jesus succeeds where others in my life do not. My family and friends are great, but they die and fail and hurt me. Jesus doesn’t die (or if he does, it doesn’t last for long). He is always there for me, always loves me, is always faithful. So instead of not caring about others, or pretending I don’t care, or trying to guard my heart, I can love with reckless abandon because of the security of God’s love in my life. That sounds good. But it sounds scary too…
One thought on “Transcend or Detach”
Nicely done! The tough lesson of Buddhism and detachment is that there is nothing to attach to, per se; meditation, perhaps, but nothing that terribly compelling.
Big question for me, I guess, is if I can’t deny the existence of you or I or the context in which we find each other, there is no scenario where I can really detach…at that point, I can only neglect.