In 2006 I read Blue
Like Jazz by +Donald Miller. At the time I wrote down what I considered to be some of his main points and then responded to them. (Miller's words are bolded and italicized below).
“If I cannot accept God’s
love, I cannot love Him in return, and I cannot obey Him. Self-discipline will
never make us feel righteous or clean; accepting God’s love will. The ability
to accept God’s unconditional grace and ferocious love is all the fuel we need
to obey Him in return.”
For most of my Christian walk, I have been struggling with
inconsistency. I know that sin is wrong. I know that God doesn’t like it. I
know most of the consequences. I know that my sin effects others, that others
are counting on me not to sin. None of this knowledge keeps me from sinning.
Lately I have suspected that what I need is a revelation of God’s love. To be
so in love with Him that I supernaturally want to obey Him.
I am very aware that self-discipline isn’t sufficiently
enough to remain consistent.
“Here is the trick, and here is my point. Satan, who I
believe exists as much as I believe Jesus exists, wants us to believe
meaningless things for meaningless reasons. Even our beliefs have become trend statements. We don’t even
believe things because we believe them anymore. We only believe things because
they are cool things to believe.”
Wow! I wish I could say this weren’t so, but
I have to admit that it is. Never mind pointing the finger – how often do I
shut up and say nothing when faced with obvious moral discrepancy because what
I’m thinking isn’t popular? (I'm not just talking about being politically correct here, I'm also thinking about what's discussed inside Christian circles). No wonder it’s such a confusing world out there. Sometimes it seems like no
one is motivated very much at all to tell the truth purely from God's point of view.
“Too much of our time is spent trying to chart God on a
grid, and too little is spent allowing our hearts to feel awe. By reducing
Christian spirituality to formula, we deprive our hearts of wonder.”
When was
the last time I allowed myself to simply be awestruck by the Living God? When
was the last time that I put myself in a position to be overwhelmed in the
presence of the Creator of the Universe? How often do I stop and consider who I
am talking to before I begin to pray?
“It is always the simple things that change our lives. And
these things never happen when you are looking for them to happen. Life will
reveal answers at the pace life wishes to do so. You feel like running, but
life is on a stroll. This is how God does things.”
Oh, how I wish it were not so! How I wish I could control
the speed at which I receive revelation from God! How I wish I could fast
forward, through the tough stuff, the
soul searching, and end up with the pot of wisdom at the end of the rainbow.
“Nobody will listen to you unless they sense that you like
them.”
I’ve spent the vast majority of my adult like trying to figure this one out.
Trying to scoot around this basic human truth. But the fact is, it’s the truth!
What I know doesn’t impress people, or cause them to be receptive to my influence.
It’s how much I love them that counts. How deep the relationship goes depends
upon this. Judgment chokes out intimacy. It’s like throwing battery acid on a
friendship.
“And so I have come to understand that strength, inner
strength, comes from receiving love as much as it comes from giving it… And
this is the prayer that I pray for all my friends because it is the key to
happiness. God’s love will never change us if we don’t accept it.”
This is the
central point of Christian living. It’s scary to have to admit it, but it’s
absolutely true. God’s love for us propelled Him to send His Son. Jesus’ love
for the Father compelled Him to obedience. Jesus’ love for us caused Him to
leave us with the Holy Spirit. But none of this really matters if we can’t
receive the love that the Father has for us in the first place!
Father, I don’t ever want to be done discussing this with
You. This is huge. This is crucial. It’s the guiding force behind my
walk with You. Our own relationship depends upon me considering these things
and doing something about it.