The Hidden Life (AI Rewrite)

There is a form of religious experience that can rightly be called The Hidden Life. When someone first becomes aware of their sin and, however imperfectly, puts their faith in Christ as a Savior, they truly begin a new life. Even if that faith feels weak or uncertain, it marks a real turning point.

But that new life is only a beginning. It carries within it the seed of something far greater — a restored and renewed existence that will, over time, grow into deeper understanding and stronger spiritual feeling. At first, though, it is still fragile. It struggles constantly with the old, natural way of living and often seems like little more than the faint light of dawn before the full day arrives.

What I am calling The Hidden Life, however, is something different. It represents a stage of Christian experience far beyond that hesitant beginning which so many never move past. It speaks of a mature and deeply rooted spiritual life — a sacred and intimate union with God.

Scripture hints at this deeper life in many places. The psalmist seems to touch on it when he says, “You are my hiding place and my shield,” and again, “Whoever dwells in the secret place of the Most High will rest under the shadow of the Almighty.” The apostle Paul points to it when he writes, “I have been crucified with Christ, and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me,” and when he tells the Colossians, “You have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.” Even Jesus himself refers to a spiritual life known only to those who truly live it, when he speaks of the “hidden manna” given to those who overcome. This hidden life belongs especially to those who have moved beyond the basics of faith and have become deeply rooted—what Scripture calls being “sanctified in Christ Jesus.” It is a form of life unlike any other.

A Life Drawn from Another

First, this life is called hidden because its source is not found primarily within the person themselves, but in Christ. It is a life that has been grafted into another life. The soul lives because it is united to Christ, much like a branch lives because it is connected to the vine.

Jesus explained this clearly: “I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever remains in me, and I in them, will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.” This union is mysterious, but it is also profoundly real. A person whose life is “hidden with Christ in God” knows that their spiritual growth does not come from their own strength, but from a divine source that sustains them.

A Life the World Cannot Understand

Second, this life is hidden because its deepest motivations are invisible to the world. The natural person can understand natural motives. Worldly people can usually make sense of others who live for the world — and even of many who call themselves Christians, since natural and spiritual motives are often mixed together in ordinary religious life.

But the inner workings of a truly purified life remain largely beyond worldly understanding. The principles that drive it — loving holiness for its own sake, forgiving rather than retaliating, seeking God rather than recognition — seem strange or even foolish to those who have never experienced them. As Scripture says, “The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God… because they are spiritually discerned.” The world cannot grasp the quiet intimacy that exists between God and a sanctified soul. It lacks the framework to understand it at all.

A Life That Seeks No Applause

The hidden life also stands in direct contrast to the life of the world in its outward expression. The natural life craves attention. It seeks recognition, status, and praise. It wants to be noticed in public spaces and applauded for its accomplishments. The life of God in the soul moves in the opposite direction. It does not seek to be seen. Content with divine companionship, it follows a humble and often unnoticed path. It obeys Christ’s instruction to pray in secret. It is willing to be small, overlooked, or even rejected. Worldly honor and applause hold little appeal.

This life reflects the pattern of Christ himself. Though he entered the world on the greatest mission imaginable, he lived simply and humbly. To most people, he was misunderstood — known only to those who shared in the inner life that revealed who he truly was.

Not Bound to Forms or Places

The hidden life should not be confused with outward religious forms or rituals. While churches, worship services, and spiritual disciplines may support it — and often do — they are not its essence. If they were, this life would no longer be hidden at all. Its true home is the soul. It can flourish anywhere: in a cathedral or in a wilderness, among the wealthy or the poor, in public or in solitude. Like the wind, it moves where it will. As Jesus said, it is “the kingdom of God within you.”

Because it does not depend on circumstances, this life has enduring strength. It cannot die, because it is animated by the breath of God himself. Even in times when churches have grown corrupt, when leaders have failed, and when faith has been reduced to empty forms, this hidden life has persisted. God has always preserved hearts devoted to him—quiet, unseen, but faithful.

A Life Governed by Principle

Finally, the hidden life is not chaotic or driven by emotional impulse. Much of what passes for Christianity measures spiritual vitality by excitement or temporary feeling. It rises and falls with emotion, constantly shifting direction.

The true hidden life is different. It is anchored in God. It has principles — stable, wise, and unchanging — that guide its growth. Just as nothing in nature exists without governing laws, the spiritual life also operates according to divine principles. God does nothing by accident. He does not create, sustain, or redeem the soul through randomness.

The new life within the believer has laws of beginning, growth, and endurance. Recognizing and living by these principles is one of the great lessons the church is called to learn more fully.

 

[This is the first chapter of Thomas C. Upham's The Interior or Hidden Life (1844), "Some Marks or Traits of the Hidden Life" re-written with the assistance of Microslop CoPilot. The original can be found here.]