i made the comment to fran that i was re-reading The Shack and in it, a comment was made by Jesus. He said something like his life wasn't meant to be an example to follow. I said that we had a great conversation about this in our small group, i thought it meant that we don't have to try to be perfect.
so, a few clarification points and a few discussion points about this.
i know The Shack is fiction. fiction, by definition is; the class of literature comprising works of imaginative narration. (according to dictionary.com) so, would i base my theology, the study of my understanding of God, off of this book? no, not really. nor would i get worked up and say that the book is blasphemous! (a friend of ours said this about the book)
i do think the book can be helpful in trying to portray God in a way that is different than most people think about Him. for us, it is a great conversation starter! it is a great way to open the scriptures and see if they really say that is how God is.
here is the quote i mentioned to fran.
"You mean," Mack quipped, "that i can't just ask, 'What would Jesus do?'"Jesus chuckled, "Good intentions, bad idea. Let me know how it works for you, if that's the way you choose to go." He paused and grew sober. "Seriously, my life was not meant to be an example to copy. Being my follower is not trying to 'be like Jesus', it means your independence is killed. I came to give you life, real life, my life. We will come and live our life inside you, so that you begin to see with our eyes, and hear with our ears, and touch with our hands, and think like we do. But we will never force that union on you. If you want to do your thing, have at it. Time is on our side."
From The Shack, chapter 10
Tara, I too have been taught that we ought to be holy just as Christ was holy and i thought that meant doing or NOT doing a bunch of stuff. it is 1 peter 1:15-16, it says... but just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; for it is written: "be holy, because i am holy." my question would be, what makes you holy? i have tried to be holy, and i fail really bad when i try to be holy. i usually end up more holier than thou, than i do holy. i think the conversation between mack and jesus portrays a clear direction with how to be holy.
check out these verses...
Colossians 3:12 ... Therefore, as God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. we are holy and dearly loved because he chose us! then we are able to do the list that follows. the list doesn't make us holy...
2 Timothy 1:9 .. who has saved us and called us to a holy life--not because of anything we have done but because of his own purpose and grace. This grace was given us in Christ Jesus before the beginning of time,
you will have to read all of that, there is goodness in that chapter!
now, if we were to try and live our life perfect...following the mantra, WWJD. we might end up feeling defeated when we fail. but, IF we understand that we can not be made any more holy than we already are... then the list becomes easier to accomplish. we dont have to accomplish it by ourselves. we realize that Jesus is inside of us, allowing us to see as they see, hear as they hear, act as they would act.
i first heard it from louie giglio, "the key to christianity isn't trying, the key to christianity is dying..."
does this change any of your thoughts? what do you think? are you a try-er or a die-er?
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6 comments:
In Philip Yancy's book What's so Amazing About Grace? there are two lines that really jumped out at me.
The first was: There is nothing that you can do to make God love you less.
This is comforting becuase it tells us that God's love is unconditional and so we can't mess it up.
The second was similar: There is nothing that you can do to make God love you more.
Well if doing the right thing doesn't make God love us more, why would we do the right thing? We do what is right as our expression of love toward God.
Jesus said that if we love Him, we will obey Him. So WWJD? He would show people the Father's love by loving them Himself. WWJD is a tough question when we apply it to everything in our life. Would Jesus go to a ballgame with his buddies or use the money to feed the poor? Both are worthwhile activities. While one might be a little self indulgent, I don't think that there is anything wrong with having fun with your friends.
Would it make a difference if the purpose was to invite one of your friends to your small group? Sometimes we make following Jesus too complicated. I wish I had all of the answers...as it is, I'm enjoying the conversation here.
Sorry about the rant...I should get my own blog. :)
I also enjoyed The Shack as Christian fiction. I thought it was very thought provoking - however, guess I kind of wondered what all of the excitement was about. I think it is like everything else - it depends on where you are in your life when you rad certain things.There are things in the book I found kind of odd - but again I read it as fiction - one man's take on something. I agree with the post and with John's comment. Guess the problem lies in that we do not live like the holy people we are. Do I think we can ever attain perfection - no. The real thing I feel I am called to "strive" for is a closer relationship with God - then all of the other stuff flows from that.
John, I am not sure about the ballgame with your buddies, but know it is okay to take your wife to dinner!!!! I haven't been on your blog in a while - need to go over there and see what is going on.
I was thinking about the whole trying to be like Jesus thing and WWJD this evening. How are we to imitate Jesus when it comes to our actions?
If we just take caring for the poor as an example...
Do you give them money?
What about buying them food?
What if you chose to contribute to a shelter or food that cares for the poor?
What if you give of your time by volunteering at a shelter?
Well...WWJD?
I think that Paul would tell us (as he wrote to the Phillipians) that we should have the attitude of Christ. All of the above fit into the attitude of Jesus...different actions, same attitude.
Just thinking...
Daniel, I totally agree with the holier than thou thing. We sure don't want to put people off. I think if we are in the Bible, and most importantly following the leading of the Holy Spirit(those little hints we get about how we should behave in any given situtation) then we will be fine. If our hearts are truly in the right place we won't have to try to do or not do a bunch of stuff. It will just happen. And when we mess up we start over again by God's grace. We just came from 11 hours of Supercross madness, so I hope I'm saying this right!
John - I haven't read Phillip Yancy's book, but i love the lines you quoted. i dont have any of the answers either, but i am like you... i am enjoying the conversation
fran - i was kinda like you when i read the book the first time. i was against reading the book due to all the hype. then i read it and thought...how could people get worked up about that?
tara - i agree about spending time with the Lord. that makes things SO much better! 12 hours of supercross...man, i am jealous!
another thought... wwjd is an outdated "method"? i mean, it is almost a punch line. we could call it a "tactic" if you prescribe to the thought that we are the "method". is there anything that you believe now, that you didnt believe 5-10 years ago.
The new catch phrase is "RWJD". Remember What Jesus Did! Sorry, that is my limited input in this blog.
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