As We Understood Him

At Recovery at Summit, we use the Twelve Steps from Alcoholics Anonymous as a discipleship process because we believe they align with biblical principles:

Steps 1-3 are about surrender to God.

Steps 4-7 are about confession and repentance.

Steps 8-9 are about reconciliation with others.

Steps 10-12 are about ongoing rhythms of growth.

For us, Step 3 is a step of decision, of surrender:

“We made a decision to turn our wills and our lives over to the care of God as we understood Him.”

In Recovery, we often hear a question about this step: Why does it say, “as we understood Him”? Does this mean God can be anything to anybody? Are we teaching some kind of universalism?

Unfortunately, that is exactly how this step is treated in many secular recovery programs. Some say, “We don’t care if your god is that doorknob, just as long as it works for you.” As you might have guessed, we don’t say that at Recovery at Summit. Our God is not anonymous; he’s the God of the Bible: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

And yet we still use this phrase: “God as we understood him.” To me, this phrase means that my understanding of God is always growing wider and deeper. I haven’t changed religions, but the way I understand God now is different from how I understood him at the beginning of my recovery journey.

In The Chronicles of Narnia (C. S. Lewis’s wonderful novels), children from this world travel to a magical world called Narnia, which is ruled by a great talking lion named Aslan, who is a figure of Jesus. In the second book, Prince Caspian, a girl named Lucy returns to Narnia and is reunited with Aslan. Here’s what happens next:

“Aslan, Aslan. Dear Aslan,” sobbed Lucy. “At last.”

The great beast rolled over on his side so that Lucy fell, half sitting and half lying between his front paws. He bent forward and just touched her nose with his tongue. His warm breath came all round her. She gazed up into the large wise face.

“Welcome, child,” he said.

“Aslan,” said Lucy, “you’re bigger.”

“That is because you are older, little one,” answered he.

“Not because you are?”

“I am not. But every year you grow, you will find me bigger.”

As I have grown in my recovery journey, I have found Jesus to be much bigger than I thought he was when I started. I understand him differently because I have grown.

If you’re walking the Twelve Steps and you don’t find “as we understood him” helpful, feel free to ignore it or leave it out. For me, it is a reminder that recovery isn’t about getting sober, but living more and more into the great story of my hero Jesus. I understand him better now than I used to. I look forward to understanding him better. I can turn my life over to him because he is good, and I find him bigger every year I grow.