More Miller
Thoughts from Donald Miller, "Searching For God Knows What," c. 2004:
"One writer said that what we commonly think of as love is really the desire to be loved. I know that is true for me, and it has been true for years, that often when I want somebody to like me, I am really wanting them to say that I am redeemed, that I am not a loser, that I can stay in the boat, stay in the circus, that my act redeems me.
"In this sense, as harsh as some of Jesus' words are, they are also beautiful and comforting. No more worrying about what an audience thinks, no more trying to elbow our way to the top. We have Him instead, a God who redeems our identity for us, giving us His righteousness.
"I read this painful passage in Eugene Peterson's translation of the book of Galatians the other day that sums up life in the lifeboat, life in the circus:
Gal. 5:19-21) It is obvious what kind of life develops out of trying to get your own way all the time: repetitive, loveless, cheap sex; a stinking accumulation of mental and emotional garbage; frenzied and joyless grabs for happiness; trinket gods; magic-show religion; paranoid loneliness; cutthroat competition; all-consuming-yet-never-satisfied wants; a brutal temper; an impotence to love or be loved; divided homes and divided lives; small-minded and lopsided pursuits; the vicious habit of depersonalizing everyone into a rival; uncontrolled and uncontrollable addictions; ugly parodies of community. I could go on.
"I kept thinking about all this and I wanted it all to end...
"Imagine how much a man's life would change if he trusted that he was loved by God? He could interact with the poor and not show partiality, he could love his wife easily and not expect her to redeem him, he would be slow to anger because redemption was no longer at stake, he could be wise and giving with his money because money no longer represented points, he could give up on formulaic religion, knowing that checking stuff off a spiritual to-do list was a worthless pursuit, he would have confidence and the ability to laugh at himself, and he could love people without expecting anything in return. It would be quite beautiful, really."
posted by Bobby @ 5:16 AM
6 comments
6 Comments:
"Imagine how much a man's life would change if he trusted that he was loved by God?"
The crazy thing is that I think that is all God really wants of us, to trust His love. For with that comes such freedom. A freedom He desires to give us. And yet we make it so hard sometimes.
Yeah. That's a lot of what Miller talks about. It's a great book.
It is a life long pilgrimage. People in my congregation who I've considered to be close to God keep sharing of their struggles.
As Kate writes, I, too, think that all God wants of us is for us to trust him. And the closer we get to that, the better our lives become. But God keeps stretching us and we need to continue to learn to exercise our trust in Him.
The book I'm reading now talks about the reasons why relationships and communication get so complicated. The author says that it's because we are looking for the validation of our souls in other people, when it can only come from God. I think that's entirely true.
Exactly. I read a wedding poem/prayer one time that said something like, "Lord, may they never expect the perfection from each other that is found only in You."
That is so apt.
I'll check it out, Sean!
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