A few more things to contemplate from a sage...Eugene Peterson...
"We learn how to love by being loved. Love is not built into our genes. A lot of very essential things in human life take place without learning or practice: We breathe, our hearts pump and circulate our blood, our sucking reflexes are fully developed when we come out of the womb, we kick and wave and scream, we cuddle and sleep and coo, all without schooling or training.
As we develop genetically, things come into play that do require teaching and training: reading and writing, social skills, artistic and athletic competence, emotional and relational understandings, how to repair a transmission, how to program a computer, how to get to the moon. At the top of these learned behaviors, these achieved identities, is love.
Everyone more or less knows this, but after we've reached the age of thirty or so, having failed at it so many times, it seems so out of reach that many of us settle for a human identity that is more accessible--like one associated with playing the violin, or playing a ten-handicap golf game, or repairing a transmission, or getting to the moon. When we run into John's (biblical writer) barrage of sentences on love, it just doesn't seem very practical. We shrug our shoulders and say, "Well, I've tried it, tried it a lot. I don't seem to be very good at it, and the friends I've tried it on don't seem to be very good at it either. How about something a little more down-to-earth."
But John won't be deterred. He says, in effect, "This is about as down-to-earth as you can get. Don't you remember hearing the Word became flesh and dwelt among us...Isn't dwelt among us down to earth? And God so loved the world that he gave...isn't world down-to-earth? You are the one he loves, and this world is the ground on which he loves you. I'm not putting anything alien or ill-fitting on you. This is who you are, your identity, loved by God. But being loved is not all there is to it. Being loved creates a person who can love, who must love. Getting love is a launch into giving love."
Thursday, February 25, 2010
Wednesday, February 24, 2010
Solitude...
Leading a class on wednesday nights called "Celebrating the Disciplines". This week, we are celebrating the discipline of solitude. Wanted to share a few thoughts that might encourage us toward a deeper walk with God. This is taken from Richard Foster's "Celebration of Discipline".
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Henri Nouwen has noted that “without solitude it is virtually impossible to lead a spiritual life.” Why is this so? Because, in solitude, we are freed from our bondage to people and our inner compulsions, and we are freed to love God and know compassion for others.
To enter solitude, we must disregard what others think of us. Who will understand this call to aloneness? Even our closest friends will see it as a terrible waste of precious time and as rather selfish and self-centered. But, oh, what liberty is released in our hearts when we let go of the opinions of others! The less we are mesmerized by human voices, the more we are able to hear the divine voice. The less we are bound by other’s expectations, the more we are open to God’s expectations.
But, in solitude, we die not only to others but also to ourselves. To be sure, at first we thought solitude was a way to recharge our batteries in order to enter life’s many competitions with new vigor and strength. In time, however, we found that solitude did not give us power to win the rat race; on the contrary, it taught us to ignore the struggle altogether. Slowly, we found ourselves letting go of our inner compulsions to win and our frantic effort to attain. In the stillness, our false, busy selves were unmasked and seen for the imposters they truly are.
It is out of our liberation from others and self that our ears become open to hear and our eyes unveiled to see the goodness of God. We can love God because we do not have to love the world. Through our solitude, an open inner space has been created through which God finds us. In solitude, we experience a second (and third, and fourth, and fifth…) conversion. In a deeper more profound way, we turn from the idols of the marketplace to the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. God takes this “useless” Discipline, this “wasted time,” to make us His friend.
A happy by-product of becoming the friend of God is an increased compassion for others. Once we have peered into the abyss of our own vanity, we can never again look at the struggles of others in condescending superiority. Once we have faced the demons of despair in our own aloneness, we can never again pass off lightly the quiet depression and sad loneliness of those we meet. We become one with all who hurt and are afraid. We are free to give them the greatest gift we possess—the gift of ourselves.
________________________________________________
Henri Nouwen has noted that “without solitude it is virtually impossible to lead a spiritual life.” Why is this so? Because, in solitude, we are freed from our bondage to people and our inner compulsions, and we are freed to love God and know compassion for others.
To enter solitude, we must disregard what others think of us. Who will understand this call to aloneness? Even our closest friends will see it as a terrible waste of precious time and as rather selfish and self-centered. But, oh, what liberty is released in our hearts when we let go of the opinions of others! The less we are mesmerized by human voices, the more we are able to hear the divine voice. The less we are bound by other’s expectations, the more we are open to God’s expectations.
But, in solitude, we die not only to others but also to ourselves. To be sure, at first we thought solitude was a way to recharge our batteries in order to enter life’s many competitions with new vigor and strength. In time, however, we found that solitude did not give us power to win the rat race; on the contrary, it taught us to ignore the struggle altogether. Slowly, we found ourselves letting go of our inner compulsions to win and our frantic effort to attain. In the stillness, our false, busy selves were unmasked and seen for the imposters they truly are.
It is out of our liberation from others and self that our ears become open to hear and our eyes unveiled to see the goodness of God. We can love God because we do not have to love the world. Through our solitude, an open inner space has been created through which God finds us. In solitude, we experience a second (and third, and fourth, and fifth…) conversion. In a deeper more profound way, we turn from the idols of the marketplace to the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. God takes this “useless” Discipline, this “wasted time,” to make us His friend.
A happy by-product of becoming the friend of God is an increased compassion for others. Once we have peered into the abyss of our own vanity, we can never again look at the struggles of others in condescending superiority. Once we have faced the demons of despair in our own aloneness, we can never again pass off lightly the quiet depression and sad loneliness of those we meet. We become one with all who hurt and are afraid. We are free to give them the greatest gift we possess—the gift of ourselves.
Tuesday, February 23, 2010
Now Launching LIFE
These are exciting days for our family as we launch a new ministry called LIFE. The last month has been incredibly busy with pulling together all details and preparing for the start. Melody and I have been working together to lay the foundation for this. We are both dreaming together and excited about the things that God has in store. In fact, Melody has been working a lot on a website for the ministry...check it out at www.lifeministriesnow.com.
Some have asked where we stand on the marriage book..."Every Marriage Needs a Divorce". We are about 70% complete. Our goal is to finish the book by mid-March so that we can send to publishing. We have 2 self-publishing companies we are looking at using. Both could have the book available by May which is when our first marriage weekend is happening. Pray with us about the financing of this book...need about $3500 to cover all publishing costs and secure some copies up front. Also, pray for us next week (first week of March)...committing the week to writing.
Right now, we have been balancing a lot. Though these are exciting things we are working on...it has been a tiring month or so. Pray for some restoration and strength and balance as we start this new ministry. Also, pray with us about finances. Just like starting up a business, there are many expenses on the front-end that we are trusting God to provide. We trust that there will be many stories to tell on the other side of this one. Following the Wild Spirit...
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