"In spiritual matters there really is no 'Third World.' It's all Third World."
- Dallas Willard
Monday, May 4, 2009
Sorry to bombard you with book stuff (not really), but I thought I'd share this excerpt with you:
We are saved from many things: sin, Satan, punishment, death. But primarily we are saved from the wrath of God. And we aren’t just passed over for wrath; we are brought in, held close, covered up. We have received reconciliation. This is such a powerful way to talk about salvation, because it moves us beyond self-centered talk of being saved into a personal faith, as if Christianity is about self-improvement, and takes us right into being unified again with God, which posits salvation such as it is -- Jesus the Savior taking dead strangers to God and transforming them into living friends.
This is from the chapter titled "Jesus the Savior."
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Comments on "From Dead Strangers to Living Friends":
2. Les
- 05/05/2009 11:37 am CDT
Yes. "Saved" is one of the most trite expressions in the massive Sargasso Sea of Christian argot. What you have so eloquently expressed is what we lose sight of, that someone who is "saved" is SAFE. That is, we are no longer in DANGER. Not that now we simply live forever on our own, but are actively "HELD CLOSE."
If I am carrying my child from the car to the house in a driving rain storm I completely envelope them in my tightest embrace beneath my coat, taking all the hits myself from the sleet, the wind, the flying debris, the roaring sounds of thunder, the frightening flash of lightning. I don't simply send them off with an umbrella and a slicker. I want them to be completely sealed off from fear, as well as the elements.
I don't know if that rings for anyone else, but as I read your words, this is the scene that came to mind for me.
The hardest thing for me to release into His embrace is the fear of what He Himself might ask of me. That's me being hung up on my comfort in this life. I don't want to suffer. Yet it's pretty clear that it's part of the equation.
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This is so good.
Can't. Wait.