InTheWeeds

Its Not About You and Me

A lady who was studying to be a Presbytarian minister once told me a story about a missionary in Brazil. For most of his life he worked with the poorest people who lived out in the jungle.

Regularly he would travel on foot from village to village and house to house and when he would knock on a door and a person would answer the door, they would say, Hello Father so and so (I dont remember the name). And always he would have a disappointed look on his face after that opening.

Puzzled by the melancholy look, the people would ask if he was ok, his response was that if when they opened the door they first saw him, then he had not gotten rid of enough of himself yet so Jesus could shine through.

This week while reading It Takes a Church (http://bolsinger.blogs.com/) there was a link through to an interview with Eugene Peterson after Pastor Bolsinger mentioned how Pastor Peterson had impacted his life. Prior to this I had never heard of Eugene Peterson, but I should have.

The link took me to Christianity Today and and article which was an interview with Eugene Peterson (http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2005/003/26.42.html). The article was titled "Spirituality for All the Wrong Reasons".

There is so much good stuff in this article that I had to print it out so my wife could read it. It covers so much and it so deep, but like Christ, oh so simple. I will bullet a few points that really touched me, but you should read it and let it touch you as well.

-Spiritual is doing the dishes, changing the diapers, going to work, loving your spouse, loving your kids like they are, none of which is what people are interested in.
-Jesus shows us in Mark how to live, and in the middle he shifts and shows how to die.
-Now that you have a life learn how to give it up.
-Lose all your illusions and you start to be capable of true intimacy and love.
-As soon as we start advertising faith in terms of benefits, its just more about self and that is the problem.
-Spirituality is not about ends or benefits or things; its about means, the how you do it.
-Intimacy means being open, honest and transparent not sexual.
-Christian life is a wonderful life, but it is not wonderful in the way a lot of people want to see it.
-If you read the saints they are regular people. There are moments of rapture and extacy but about once every 10 years and even then it surprises them. We live a regular life.

It is the thinking like this that reminded me of that missionary in Brazil. It is the recent revelation that I too have been caught up in the spirituality of benefits. I have asked myself, is there anything I have done that truly had no benefit for me? Truly?

There have been the moments of great joy that were surely provided by the Spirit of God in worship or revelation, but outside that, have I really given, done and sacrificed without some selfish thought or intent or purpose, even just slightly? I dont think so.

Having come to that, God is slowly teaching me (slowly because I am slow not Him) how to get over myself and get to Him. And I am thankful as it deepens the intimacy as Paster Eugene Peterson would define it.

Thank you Pastor Bolsinger, even though your post this day was not about this, your link touched a heart and maybe more.

In His Love,

LivingTheDream

posted by livingthedream @ 2:45 PM