"We are giving in to the dangerous temptation to take the Jesus of the Bible and twist him into a version of Jesus we are more comfortable with.
A nice, middle-class, American Jesus. A Jesus who doesn't mind materialism and who would never call us to give away everything we have. A Jesus who would not expect us to forsake our closest relationships so that he receives all our affection. A Jesus who is fine with nominal devotion that does not infringe on our comforts, because, after all, he loves us just the way we are. A Jesus who wants us to be balanced, who wants us to avoid dangerous extremes, and who, for that matter, wants us to avoid danger altogether. A Jesus who brings us comfort and prosperity as we live out our Christian spin on the American dream.
But do you and I realize what we are doing at this point? We are molding Jesus into our image. He is beginning to look a lot like us because, after all, that is whom we are most comfortable with. And the danger now is that when we gather in our church buildings to sing and lift up our hands in worship, we may not actually be worshiping the Jesus of the Bible. Instead we may be worshiping ourselves."
Showing posts with label literature. Show all posts
Showing posts with label literature. Show all posts
Sunday, March 13, 2011
Saturday, April 18, 2009
The Pain that Gives Way to Joy
Excerpts from "The Problem of Pain" by C.S. Lewis, from his chapter on "Heaven":
"There have been times when I think we do not desire heaven; but more often I find myself wondering whether, in our heart of hearts, we have ever desired anything else. You may have noticed that the books you really love are bound together by a secret thread. You know very well what is the common quality that makes you love them, though you cannot put it into words; but most of your friends do not see it at all, and often wonder why, liking this, you should also like that. Again, you have stood before some landscape, which seems to embody what you have been looking for all your life, and then turned to the friend at your side who appears to be seeing what you saw - but at the first words a gulf yawns between you, and you realise that this landscape means something totally different to him, that he is pursuing an alien vision and cares nothing for the ineffable suggestion by which you are transported. Even in your hobbies, has there not always been some secret attraction which the others are curiously ignorant of - something, not to be identified with, but always on the verge of breaking through, the smell of cut woood in the workshop or the clap-clap of water against the boat's side? Are not all lifelong friendships born at the moment when at last you meet another human being who has some inkling (but faint and uncertain even in the best) of that something which you were born desiring, and which, beneath the flux of other desires and in all the momentary silences between the louder passions, night and day, year by year, from childhood to old age, you are looking for, watching for, listening for? You have never had it. All the things that have ever deeply possessed your soul have been but hints of it - tantalising glimpses, promises never quite fulfilled, echoes that died away just as they caught your ear. But if it should really become manifest - if there ever came an echo that did not die away but swelled into the sound itself - you would know it. Beyond all possibility of doubt you would say 'Here at last is the thing I was made for.' We cannot tell each other about it. It is the secret signature of each soul, the incommunicable and unappeasable want, the thing we desired before we met our wives or made our friends or chose our work, and which we shall still desire on our deathbeds, when the mind no longer knows wife or friend or work. While we are, this is. If we lose this, we lose all."
I wonder sometimes if the hurts and disappointments in life serve only (or at least partially) to remind us that we were not created for this life. We're always left with a deep-seated longing in our soul, because this is not what we were ultimately created for. In John 16, Jesus is preparing his disciples for his coming death...
"Truly, you will weep and mourn over what is going to happen to me, but the world will rejoice. You will grieve, but your grief will suddenly turn to wonderful joy when you see me again. It will be like a woman experiencing the pains of labor. When her child is born, her anguish gives place to joy... You have sorrow now, but I will see you again; then you will rejoice, and no one can rob you of that joy." (John 16:20-22)
He seemed to say, "I know it will be difficult, but hang on... my death is not the end of the story. When you know the full story, you will have cause to rejoice."
"Now we see things imperfectly as in a poor mirror, but then we will see everything with perfect clarify. All that I know now is partial and incomplete, but then I will know everything completely, just as God knows me now." (I Corinthians 13:12)
So, I guess the lesson is... I don't know the full story. The unfulfilled desires of my heart serve to point me to Christ and the day I will be with Him. LORD, haste that day! In the meantime, help me keep my eyes focused securely on You.
"There have been times when I think we do not desire heaven; but more often I find myself wondering whether, in our heart of hearts, we have ever desired anything else. You may have noticed that the books you really love are bound together by a secret thread. You know very well what is the common quality that makes you love them, though you cannot put it into words; but most of your friends do not see it at all, and often wonder why, liking this, you should also like that. Again, you have stood before some landscape, which seems to embody what you have been looking for all your life, and then turned to the friend at your side who appears to be seeing what you saw - but at the first words a gulf yawns between you, and you realise that this landscape means something totally different to him, that he is pursuing an alien vision and cares nothing for the ineffable suggestion by which you are transported. Even in your hobbies, has there not always been some secret attraction which the others are curiously ignorant of - something, not to be identified with, but always on the verge of breaking through, the smell of cut woood in the workshop or the clap-clap of water against the boat's side? Are not all lifelong friendships born at the moment when at last you meet another human being who has some inkling (but faint and uncertain even in the best) of that something which you were born desiring, and which, beneath the flux of other desires and in all the momentary silences between the louder passions, night and day, year by year, from childhood to old age, you are looking for, watching for, listening for? You have never had it. All the things that have ever deeply possessed your soul have been but hints of it - tantalising glimpses, promises never quite fulfilled, echoes that died away just as they caught your ear. But if it should really become manifest - if there ever came an echo that did not die away but swelled into the sound itself - you would know it. Beyond all possibility of doubt you would say 'Here at last is the thing I was made for.' We cannot tell each other about it. It is the secret signature of each soul, the incommunicable and unappeasable want, the thing we desired before we met our wives or made our friends or chose our work, and which we shall still desire on our deathbeds, when the mind no longer knows wife or friend or work. While we are, this is. If we lose this, we lose all."
I wonder sometimes if the hurts and disappointments in life serve only (or at least partially) to remind us that we were not created for this life. We're always left with a deep-seated longing in our soul, because this is not what we were ultimately created for. In John 16, Jesus is preparing his disciples for his coming death...
"Truly, you will weep and mourn over what is going to happen to me, but the world will rejoice. You will grieve, but your grief will suddenly turn to wonderful joy when you see me again. It will be like a woman experiencing the pains of labor. When her child is born, her anguish gives place to joy... You have sorrow now, but I will see you again; then you will rejoice, and no one can rob you of that joy." (John 16:20-22)
He seemed to say, "I know it will be difficult, but hang on... my death is not the end of the story. When you know the full story, you will have cause to rejoice."
"Now we see things imperfectly as in a poor mirror, but then we will see everything with perfect clarify. All that I know now is partial and incomplete, but then I will know everything completely, just as God knows me now." (I Corinthians 13:12)
So, I guess the lesson is... I don't know the full story. The unfulfilled desires of my heart serve to point me to Christ and the day I will be with Him. LORD, haste that day! In the meantime, help me keep my eyes focused securely on You.
Monday, September 01, 2008
Joy
"But Lord, keep me far from one error. May it be far from the heart of Your servant who here confesses unto You, that I should feel momentary earthly joy and suppose that I had reached true happiness. There is a joy that brings true happiness, but it is not given to the ungodly. It is only for those who love You for Your own sake.
That joy is to know You as You are. This is the happy life, to rejoice in You, of You, and for You. This is the happy life, and there is no other. They who think there is another, pursue some other. They are not on the track of true joy. Yet they still have that image of it inside that makes them run after what looks like some semblance of the real joy."
from The Confessions of St. Augustine
That joy is to know You as You are. This is the happy life, to rejoice in You, of You, and for You. This is the happy life, and there is no other. They who think there is another, pursue some other. They are not on the track of true joy. Yet they still have that image of it inside that makes them run after what looks like some semblance of the real joy."
from The Confessions of St. Augustine
Monday, June 16, 2008
Confessions
I'm reading a bit of St. Augustine. I've wanted to read some of his writing for a long time, but I'm just now getting around to it. Here are some ideas that I'd like to explore further:
SECOND COMING: "When He [Christ] did leave the world where our eyes could see Him, it was so that He might return to us in our heart. He left that we might find Him. He departed, and - surprise! - the heart is where He reappeared." --> I don't think he's suggesting this is Christ's second coming, but it made me rethink the coming of the Holy Spirit a bit, and it makes me curious to look at some of Christ's other comments about his own return. I wonder how many of those relate to his coming in our hearts as opposed to his return to earth (i.e. - in the flesh). It's something I haven't thought too much about.
EVANGELISM: "Admiration becomes infectious when the praise is genuine." Augustine was talking of his admiration of a certain orator. His point is that he had an admiration for him not so much because of him or his speaking - but because other friends of his admired him so much. I think he point he was making was that others should notice Christ as a result of our love and admiration of Him. I wonder if people are moved to check out Christ simply because of MY devotion to Him?
LEARNING/KNOWLEDGE: "I delighted in learning, but I had no divine context for what my mind picked up. I had no foundation to discern what is true or certain. I was standing with my back to the light, so that the things that should be illuminated were in shadow, even though they were in front of my face." Wow! Sometimes God is so obvious that we miss Him, because we're trying to understand the things around us outside of the context of Him.
IMPERFECTION: "The promise of satisfaction in worldly loves is an enduring lie that moves the soul to unfaithfulness from it proper lover." The things we chase after in this life leave us wanting, because they're only a slight glimmer of the fullness we find in Christ. We should be thankful for every good gift we have... "If you find physical pleasure in earthly experiences, use the occasion to praise God for these gifts. Turn your love not on the pleasures but toward their Maker. Otherwise, the things that please you will cause you to displease. Love those souls that please you, but love them in God."
SECOND COMING: "When He [Christ] did leave the world where our eyes could see Him, it was so that He might return to us in our heart. He left that we might find Him. He departed, and - surprise! - the heart is where He reappeared." --> I don't think he's suggesting this is Christ's second coming, but it made me rethink the coming of the Holy Spirit a bit, and it makes me curious to look at some of Christ's other comments about his own return. I wonder how many of those relate to his coming in our hearts as opposed to his return to earth (i.e. - in the flesh). It's something I haven't thought too much about.
EVANGELISM: "Admiration becomes infectious when the praise is genuine." Augustine was talking of his admiration of a certain orator. His point is that he had an admiration for him not so much because of him or his speaking - but because other friends of his admired him so much. I think he point he was making was that others should notice Christ as a result of our love and admiration of Him. I wonder if people are moved to check out Christ simply because of MY devotion to Him?
LEARNING/KNOWLEDGE: "I delighted in learning, but I had no divine context for what my mind picked up. I had no foundation to discern what is true or certain. I was standing with my back to the light, so that the things that should be illuminated were in shadow, even though they were in front of my face." Wow! Sometimes God is so obvious that we miss Him, because we're trying to understand the things around us outside of the context of Him.
IMPERFECTION: "The promise of satisfaction in worldly loves is an enduring lie that moves the soul to unfaithfulness from it proper lover." The things we chase after in this life leave us wanting, because they're only a slight glimmer of the fullness we find in Christ. We should be thankful for every good gift we have... "If you find physical pleasure in earthly experiences, use the occasion to praise God for these gifts. Turn your love not on the pleasures but toward their Maker. Otherwise, the things that please you will cause you to displease. Love those souls that please you, but love them in God."
Wednesday, January 23, 2008
Ouch! There's a Fork in my Eye!
It's been kind of a blah day. A friend's father is in the hospital, Heath Ledger died and a friend of mine told me that sometimes I make him want to stick a fork in his eye. So... I've had better. That being said, I did get a couple of looming responsibilities out of the way at work. I finished up our contribution statements (required by the IRS) and printed our W-2/W-3 forms. So, that's a load off. I have plenty of other things to do, but I have most of my big year-end deadline things completed.
I should be in bed, but I don't really feel like sleeping. I guess I could read. I'm reading "Catch-22" by Joseph Heller. It's on my list of books to read before I die, and I have several other friends reading. I would have read it earlier had someone told me how incredibly hilarious it is. :) Here's one of my favorite passages...
"Major Major had been born too late and too mediocre. Some men are born mediocre, some men achieve mediocrity, and some men have mediocrity thrust upon them. With Major Major it had been all three. Even among men lacking all distinction he inevitably stood out as a man lacking more distinction than all the rest, and people who met him were always impressed by how unimpressive he was."
Ha!
In other news, I didn't take much time for lunch today. I called to the restaurant downstairs and ordered a salad to go. When I went down to pick it up, the restaurant was pretty empty except for a few folks sitting here and there around the bar. There was a very nice looking gentleman closest to me when I walked in. He smiled, and I think he was watching me as I looked confused and tried to figure out where to get my salad. Instead of saying anything to him, though, I did the typical Krista "I'm here on a mission to get a salad." For some reason I always operate like that... in and out, head down, very focused on the task at hand. Anyway, he watched me and smiled again as I walked past him on the way out. For the next hour I regretted not saying anything to him... "excuse me, sir, do you know where I would pick up a to-go order?" (Not great, but at least a dialogue.) Or, better yet, I could have dropped something on the way out... let him bound out of his chair to pick it up for me. Maybe he would have offered to carry my heavy salad upstairs for me. Either way, there's always a chance he knows the wait staff and inquired about my name and number (they took my first name and work # for the order). Or, they could have told him, "I think she said she works in the building." But, alas, he never called. I happened to see him leave the building about an hour later. He was probably still wondering about me. :)
I should be in bed, but I don't really feel like sleeping. I guess I could read. I'm reading "Catch-22" by Joseph Heller. It's on my list of books to read before I die, and I have several other friends reading. I would have read it earlier had someone told me how incredibly hilarious it is. :) Here's one of my favorite passages...
"Major Major had been born too late and too mediocre. Some men are born mediocre, some men achieve mediocrity, and some men have mediocrity thrust upon them. With Major Major it had been all three. Even among men lacking all distinction he inevitably stood out as a man lacking more distinction than all the rest, and people who met him were always impressed by how unimpressive he was."
Ha!
In other news, I didn't take much time for lunch today. I called to the restaurant downstairs and ordered a salad to go. When I went down to pick it up, the restaurant was pretty empty except for a few folks sitting here and there around the bar. There was a very nice looking gentleman closest to me when I walked in. He smiled, and I think he was watching me as I looked confused and tried to figure out where to get my salad. Instead of saying anything to him, though, I did the typical Krista "I'm here on a mission to get a salad." For some reason I always operate like that... in and out, head down, very focused on the task at hand. Anyway, he watched me and smiled again as I walked past him on the way out. For the next hour I regretted not saying anything to him... "excuse me, sir, do you know where I would pick up a to-go order?" (Not great, but at least a dialogue.) Or, better yet, I could have dropped something on the way out... let him bound out of his chair to pick it up for me. Maybe he would have offered to carry my heavy salad upstairs for me. Either way, there's always a chance he knows the wait staff and inquired about my name and number (they took my first name and work # for the order). Or, they could have told him, "I think she said she works in the building." But, alas, he never called. I happened to see him leave the building about an hour later. He was probably still wondering about me. :)
Wednesday, November 07, 2007
The Kite Runner
While on vacation, I was able to read "The Kite Runner" by Khaled Hosseini. It's an excellent story about friendship, betrayal, regrets and maturing. I wrote down a few of my favorite quotes...
"That's the thing about people who mean everything they say. They think everyone else does too."
"What happens in a few days, sometimes even a single day, can change the course of a whole lifetime."
"My heart was doing pirouettes in my chest."
"A man who has no conscience, no goodness, does not suffer."
If you're looking for something to read, you might want to pick it up. A movie about the book is coming out in November, though we all know the book is (nearly) always better than the movie. :)
"That's the thing about people who mean everything they say. They think everyone else does too."
"What happens in a few days, sometimes even a single day, can change the course of a whole lifetime."
"My heart was doing pirouettes in my chest."
"A man who has no conscience, no goodness, does not suffer."
If you're looking for something to read, you might want to pick it up. A movie about the book is coming out in November, though we all know the book is (nearly) always better than the movie. :)
Thursday, July 13, 2006
Hope in the Dark
I've been looking through a (picture) book today about the crises in Africa, "HOPE in the DARK." It's a beautiful book - photographs by Jeremy Cowart and reflections by Jena Lee.
Here's an excerpt, a comment by an African man:
"We know that Americans pity Africans," he told me. "But sometimes I think AFricans pity Americans."
"How so?" I asked him.
"Americans seem to expect that everything will be provided for them For us," he said, "this ear of corn is a gift from God. This evening's rain is a shower of mercy upon us. This healthy breath is life-giving. And, maybe tomorrow we will not have such things, but our hearts are so full from God's provision."
Here's an excerpt, a comment by an African man:
"We know that Americans pity Africans," he told me. "But sometimes I think AFricans pity Americans."
"How so?" I asked him.
"Americans seem to expect that everything will be provided for them For us," he said, "this ear of corn is a gift from God. This evening's rain is a shower of mercy upon us. This healthy breath is life-giving. And, maybe tomorrow we will not have such things, but our hearts are so full from God's provision."
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