Searching for God Knows What!

I began a book a few days ago by Donald Miller and LOVE it. He's so funny yet packs in a powerful punch. Love it!

Miller talks about how he learned that maybe the Christian faith cannot be solved by formulas... maybe our God is a relational being rather than a computer program where we do "this, this, and this" and then this happens... i.e. salvation, forgiveness, services, mass etc., saying the formulas he tried to find in the Bible were things like this:

Steven was miserable then became a Christian then was stoned to death. Or Jesus lived a perfect life, then was crucified... leaving the formula, "Eat my body. Then, Drink my blood"

:) I found that amusing. Ha! But then he goes one to say this about how God works in the intricacies of everyday life:

"I know there are people who have actually gone from misery to happiness, but they didn't do it by walking through three steps; they did it because they had a certain set of parents and heard a certain song and knew sombeody who had a certain experience and saw some movie, read some book, had something happen to them like a car wreck or a trip to Seattle. Then they called on God, and a week later read something in a magazine or met a girl in Wichita, and when all this had happened, they had an epiphony... and several years later they rationalized this mystic experience with three steps... The truth is there are a million steps, and we don't even know what the steps are, and worse, they are different for you and me and they are always changing. I have come to believe the sooner we find this truth beautiful, the sooner we will fall in love with the God who keeps shaking things up, teaching us to not rely on easy answers... but rather His guidance, His existence, His mercy and His love."

Now, this fact doesn't mean there is ultimate Truth. Man, I believe that whole heartedly that there are things in this faith that are non-negotiables-- but I noticed that these things are all processes of the heart, of relationship... i.e. "Love Me w/ everything you've got, and love people like you love yourself." (Matt 22:37-40) and "I am the Way, the Truth, and the Light, no one comes to the Father but through me." (John 14:6) "Talk to me w/out stopping" (1 Thes. 5:7) "I am the vine-- stay attached to me so I can give you the nourishment you need." (John 17) "Give up what you are striving for, my burden is much lighter" (Matt 11:30 not easy, not effortless, but light) "If you do life through Me, you will have life, not just experience... and not just life, but life to its full!" (John 10:10)

Even his "do-nots" are relational... He doesn't want us to fool around w/ different people b/c He knows the reality of regret and hurt and emotional connection that comes w/ physical intimacy (1 Cor. 6:18). He doesn't want us to get drunk, b/c it takes away from knowing the good (and bad) in life naturally, through His eyes seeing its beauty w/out having to be impaired, only to wake up and face it all over again. (Eph. 5:18) Don't be arrogant, b/c it will come to bite you in the butt when you get tired of yourself and you'll have nothing left. (2 Chronicles 34:27)Boy do I need to hear that one!)

I've been learning SO much about how even the horrible things are truly best for us. That is so hard to believe... esp. w/ huge questions and pain. I have had times where I HAD IT OUT w/ God. Not the nice Christian version, "I just don't get it. But you are good... etc." No, no, no "WHY ARE YOU DOING THIS?! HOW COULD YOU?!" And the biting sarcasm, "Oh, yeah... good job God, way to give me life... by taking it all away. Looks like You know what You're doing" Or the total frustration, "If this is what you want for me, then I'm out!" Throw in an occasional "hell" and "shit", so He really knew I was mad, and that was our conversation. And it might be like that for a month or longer, but EVERY time, when I got tired and was at my very end, a series of events like Miller talked about happened. And even when things were still awful, He whispered to me, "Case, it will be recycled. I will not waste this. All I ask is that you just hang on. You don't have to do anything but hang on. And I will prove to you, that it really will be used for your good. That the only reason I allowed this is cuz I see something bigger." It is in those moments, that formulas don't work. That the pretty little how-to's and just do this and you and God, you'll be good, just don't pull through. In those moments we really need a Savior, not a process. We really need something bigger than us to know things that we don't... not a 'we do our part, he does his' kind of deal. We need things of heaven to be present NOW, not just fire insurance to make sure we're in w/ the Big Guy at the end of life.

Anyway, loved Mr. Miller's rantings and just thought I'd share this with you. :)

PS I redid my blog to be more... me! What do ya think?