What is spirituality anyway?

Therefore, since we are justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, 2 through whom we have obtained access to this grace in which we stand; and we boast in our hope of sharing the glory of God. 3 And not only that, but we also boast in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, 4 and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, 5 and hope does not disappoint us, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us.  Romans 5:1-5, NRSV
 

We talk about spirituality a lot, but we don't often define it.  It's not an easy concept to define.  Our starting point, in a Christian framework, is that spirituality is fundamentally our participation in God's spirit.  God invites us into his community, he has gifted us his spirit, that spirit leads us, guides us,  and transforms us.  

Spirituality, as a reality, begins with God and travels down to us.  It does not originate somewhere inside of us, it ends up there.  Spirituality is not just a matter of spiritual disciplines- it is the lifeblood of a relationship between God and his people.  It does not merely bring us peace and calm, but character and hope.  

Over the next few days we're going to discuss some of the key ingredients in a thriving spiritual existence.