And Another Thing

My last post examined the idea that as Christians we often think that we need to be struggling with some issue in order to feel like we're maturing in our faith. Furthermore, pastors often preach to us about sin, evil desires, and all the things we're doing that keep us from God.

And then today I was reading in Dallas Willard's book, "The Divine Conspiracy", and bam, there it was. He was explaining what Jesus meant when he spoke of the kingdom of heaven, also noting that churches today rarely speak of Jesus as teacher. Instead we hear a lot about the dos and don'ts of "right" living. Willard writes, "We are flooded with what I have called 'gospels of sin management'...while Jesus' invitation to eternal life now...remains for the most part ignored and unspoken." That's it! That's what I have been feeling and trying to convey, but good 'ol Dallas does it so much better. (I must confess here that this is the second time I have begun reading this book. It's definitely not an easy read, especially for someone who has spent the last 12 years as a stay-at-home mom. Gotta get rid of those dust bunnies of the brain.)

I'm learning to love and serve Jesus because he is my Lord but also because he is my friend and, like Paul, "I want to know him and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his suffering, becoming like him in his death, so as to somehow attain to the resurrection from the dead." Phil. 3:10 That's not about "sin management", that's about living the eternal life now. The word "know" is used here like the word "intimate". I want to know Him intimately.

But (there's that big but again), it doesn't stop there. Knowing Jesus intimately and becoming more like him everyday turns me outward, not inward. And that's where I often feel challenged. What can I do to show God's love in a practical way not just to those around me...that doesn't seem challenging enough. Well, there are some around me who are quite challenging, but I'm speaking about the forgotten, the poor and oppressed that Jesus so often spoke about. My heart desires to do more, maybe volunteer at a women's center or something like that. I must explore this further.

Somewhere a dog barks......