I was reading "The Barbarian Way" by Erwin McManus(highly recommended) and some statements made in here really hit me. The first being the oft used cliche "The safest place to be is in the center of God's will." Read Corrie ten Boom's diary and you'll feel different about that statement.
"For Corrie and Besty(Corrie's sister), the promise of safety in the center of God's will was fleshed out in the concentration camps during the Nazi holocaust of the Jews. Betsie's statement was a declaration that to walk in the character of Christ is always the right choice, regardless of outcome or consequence. Was have some how perverted this more primal understanding to a more civilized one. Instead of finding confidence to live as we should regardless of our circumstances, we have used it as justification to choose the path of least resistance, least difficulty. Instead of concluding its best to be wherever God wants us to be, we have decided that wherever it is best for us to be is where God wants us. Actually, God's will for us is less about our comfort than it is about our contribution. God would never chose for us safety at the cost of significance. God created our so that your life would count, not so that you could count the days of your life.
Bam! Powerful words to soak in...to let marinate in your spirit. Convicting. Then McManus poses this question: "If the safest place to be is in the center of the will of God, then how do you explain the life and ministry of Stephen---one sermon and then stoned to death? Was he really that bad? If the safest place to be is in the center of the will of God, then why is it that the biblical work for witness is actually the word for martyr?
And what about Paul...I'm sure Paul didn't sign up for jail time because he was bored or needed a place to stay. Check 2Cor. 11:23-27
McManus goes on to say, "There may not be a more dangerous weapon for violence or oppression than religion. It seems counterintuitive, but when human being create religions, we use then to control others through their guilt and shame. True religion always moves us to serve others and give our lives to see those oppressed find freedom."
He goes on and asks, "Is it possible that the transforming power of the church has been lost because we keep inviting people to step into the comfort, safety, and security of Jesus Christ? We've created a religious culture in which---even though we're the most blessed society in the history of the planet---our best selling literature still focuses on how we can be more blessed. Maybe we need to step way back to the beginning of this movement. The original call of Jesus was so simple, so clean, so clear: "Follow Me." He wants us to surrender our lives to HIm and follow Him into the unknown. And if it means a life of suffereing, hardship, and disappointment, it will be worth it because following Jesus Christ is more powerful and more fulfilling than living with everything in the world minus Him. Have we forgotten this? Have we become so refined and so civilized that the benefits of our faith have become more precious and more valuable to us than the Benefactor of our faith?" I wonder how many of us are in that place of John the Baptist, at that crucible where God is asking, "Are you willing to lose everything on My behalf to gain everything I desire for you? Rather than living a long life, are you willing to live a life worth living?"
Words that sting my heart and challenge me. Words that are hard to type and not take them to heart.
Gotta get going...found out I have to be at the shop by 6am. Rumor is that I've got work to do tomorrow. How long? No idea. My bet is a week to 10 days but we'll see.
Anyways let those words stir in your heart and see what God has for you.
Until Dukey Drops Again....Much Love.........
1 comment:
I'll try and make this one more brief. The Barbarian Way, one of the favs on my shelf. Be careful reading stuff like that because it will screw up your religion. You'll stop making sense to those around you.....don't sweat that one, you've already gone there.
This posting you made and the source referenced helps me understand the basis for a discussion we had last time you were here. To be honest, I dont' take lightly the possibility of this move back to KS. Just this morning I got a ph. call from a lady who is interested in The Journey. She and her husband have been here for a year and a half. They/she has visited several churches in town. Her description of the experience was "boring" and "scary." She said her husband worked for Halliburton and wasn't very intereted in church. I thought, who is when boring and scary describe what you are asking him to join you in. She said, "I just want to be with people who are real." I laughed because we are sometimes freaky real. But I also was saddened in my heart because the Father of our faith was nothing but real and yet how did we/the church get so far from real? This is the second person in the past week we have come across that has expressed similar sentiments about their church experience.
I told your mom this morning that I was afraid to once again enter the established church for fear that I/we would lose this characteristic of realness. That we'd fall into the mode of "doing church" and strive to be the ideal pastor and wife. Because God knows, realness is a different kind of scary that we in church don't know how to deal with. In my heart I know God has done so much transformation in my life here in the desert/wilderness. Things that couldn't have become a part without taking the journey, experiencing the lonliness and dryness, and yet being reminded of the faithful God whom we've devoted our lives to.
Can we take the nuggets we've harvested from the desert and invest them in an area that likely needs a fresh perspective without totally plowing up the field? I can only pray that it's possible. Will we hold on to those jewels we've found and not take hold of the bag of empty, plastic religion of the past? If we go, time will tell.
Barna's book, Revolutionary, talks of similar boundary breaking ideas and I'd encourage you to read it sometime. Your mom and I discussed it and Barbarian Way and with tears in our eyes and smiles on our faces realized that we unknowingly have raised two kids who are Revolutionary Barbarians! As parents, one voice is telling you to praise and encourage the Revolutionary Barbarian while the other voice is calling out, be safe! Kinda funny coming from people who didn't travel the safe road, isn't it? Anyhow, I just wanted to post a comment or two and tell you that your restlessness is a blessing from God. Don't ever become so content that you stop desiring to look over the horizon. God has placed within you a heart that is passionate but not perfect. Follow your passion and confess your imperfection and you will live a life in the center of God's will. Your zest and hunger for a life well lived inspires many.
Love you,
Dad
Post a Comment