A woman once told me about the difficulties she faced as a Brit fitting into American culture. One of her struggles was with people who said, "Let's do lunch." She expected them to phone and arrange a date. They never did. "Let's do lunch" was just an idiomatic way of saying farewell. We all say, "Let's do mission, " but does it carry any more intent than "Let's do lunch"?
The authors provide these very helpful quotes from Dr. Christopher Wright:
We ask, "Where does God fit into the story of my life?," when the real question is "Where doe my little life fit into this great story of God's mission?"- Tim Chester and Steve Timmis, Total Church, p. 33, 35
We want to be driven by a purpose that has been tailored just right for our own individual lives, when we should be seeing the purpose of all life, including our own, wrapped up in the great mission of God for the whole of creation.
We talk about "applying the Bible to our lives." What would it mean to apply our lives to the Bible instead, assuming the Bible to be the reality - the real story - to which we are called to conform ourselves?
We wrestle with "making the gospel relevant to the world." But in this story, God is about the business of transforming the world to fit the shape of the gospel.
We argue about what can legitimately be included in the mission that God expects from the church, when we should ask what kind of church God wants for the whole range of his mission.
I may wonder what kind of mission God has for me, when I should be asking what kind of me God wants for his mission.
1 comment:
It really is true that Christians, most of all myself, should ask themselves, "How can I better conform my life, to God and His revealed will, as seen in His word?-- rather than asking, "How can I 'fit' God into my life, as it already exists?"
The woman quoted in this book has encountered something that is very, very sad in American culture-- the tendency to make statements, or ask questions (such as "How are you today?"), that we really don't mean, as a part of supposed "social niceties." The truth is, when they are not meant *sincerely," they are anything *but* nice.
I am as guilty as anyone of this fake "niceness," and even more guilty than many, I think, because I'm a Christian and called by Him to Christ-likeness in my interactions with others. Of course, my sin of fake "social niceties" is covered by His grace, but for exactly that reason, why should I persist in it? I do *try* to fight it at times, but I must do more than that-- I must *repent* of it, so that my "Yes" is "Yes," and my "No" is "No," all for the glory of God, in Christ-like love for my brothers and sisters, and for those who do not yet know Christ.
Post a Comment