At the Feet of Jesus: The Powerful Simplicity of a CIA Life

There’s this scene in the Gospels. And, it isn’t your typical Sunday school story. Picture a man who’s been living in pure hell. Demons have been his roommates, chaos his only companion. And then Jesus shows up. This demoniac man “so fierce that no one could pass that way” (Matthew 8:28) falls like a mere child before Jesus and the demons inside him beg Jesus not to torment them (Luke 8:28). The power dynamic has shifted substantially. Jesus casts this “Legion” of demons out and what happens? This man, once wild, uncontrollable, out of his mind is found sitting. Not running, not fighting, just sitting. Clothed and in his right mind (Luke 8:35).

What a picture of everything the human heart longs for when we experience chaos of our own. Restoration, peace, rest, and simply the freedom to be present. All while simply at the feet of Jesus.

To sit at someone’s feet in ancient culture was a big deal. It wasn’t just about physical posture. It was about humility, surrender, and learning. One sat at the feet of a rabbi to learn from them, to soak in their teaching, to make their way of life one’s own way of life. When you sit, you’re saying, “I don’t have the answers.” “I’m here to receive.” “Tell me what to do and how to live.”

When you think about it, we’re all sitting somewhere. We sit at the feet of our schedules, our ambitions, our fears. We sit at the feet of social media, endlessly scrolling, consuming, comparing. We sit at the feet of every voice that tells us who we should be, what we should do, how we should live.

But what if we stopped? What if we made the radical, countercultural choice to sit at the feet of Jesus instead? Because this man in the Gospels, he’s not just sitting. He’s changed. He’s transformed. Sitting at Jesus’ feet meant he’s no longer defined by the chaos that once consumed him. He’s now a disciple. A learner. Someone who has found his foundation. And, that foundation brought him restoration, peace, and rest from his former way.

Sitting in front of Jesus isn’t a passive thing. It’s a radical choice in a culture that worships productivity. Think about Mary. While her sister is running around, doing, producing, achieving, she’s sitting at Jesus’s feet. And Jesus says she’s chosen the better part. The only part that actually matters (Luke 10).

This is where living a CIA life where Christ is all comes in. It’s about leading a life that centers on sitting at the feet of Jesus. Because when Christ is all, you stop chasing. You stop striving. You stop listening to the noise of a thousand other voices clamoring for your attention. When Christ is all, you sit at his feet. You focus on his voice.

Imagine having access to the most powerful being in the universe, and his primary invitation is simply, “Sit with me.” Not perform for me. Not impress me. Not prove yourself to me. Just sit. And, in that sitting, something miraculous happens. The tormented find peace. The anxious find rest. The lost find direction. Transformation occurs.

You can’t live the life you were created for unless you sit at his feet. How are you to love others unless you’ve received love from the source of love himself first? How are you to imitate his way of life, follow him truly, and be his representative to the world without submitting yourself to him and his teachings? How are you to bear good fruit without abiding in him who is good? You must sit.

And yet, how often do we skip this step? We get busy. We get distracted. We fill our time even with “good” things, important things, things for him. Yet we forget to actually sit with him. We fill our ears and our minds with sermons, podcasts, and books. Some of these are great. They challenge us, inspire us, encourage us. But they’re not Jesus. Because here’s the thing: you can listen to every podcast, read every book, follow every spiritual influencer, and still miss it. You can fill your mind with theology and your calendar with ministry and still lose sight of the one thing that matters: Just being with the one who brings restoration to your soul, transformation to your spirit, and knows you deeply yet loves you completely. You’re not missing anything by sitting. You’re finally finding everything, or rather that one thing, that actually matters.

What if the key then to transformation isn’t in doing more, but in sitting more…with him? What if the restoration of our souls happens not in the motion, but in the stillness…with him? Sitting, just being with the one who paid a high price to have us. To have us simply be with him. To sit with him. Because that’s where we’re truly made new