Full of God?
I appreciate what McLaren in his book "A New Kind of Christianity" says: "So our quest calls us first and foremost to nurture a robust spiritual life-not only a deep commitment to serve God, but also a deep desire to know and love God, to make room, as Gamaliel said , for God to be truly in us and in our quest. That means that we need as our models more than great thinkers and theologians; we need great saints; women and me of the Holy Spirit, women and men who are full of God."(italics mine)
Two thoughts:
1. People think of a "model" as perfect or an ideal. Not sure that is the best way to think about this concept in todays culture. I do not want to copy someone because it destroys my uniqueness and can shift my self-perspective. Better to understand a desire to train my live to "see" people who are full of God.
What does that look like? If we do not know what that looks like we may catch ourselves emulating something slightly different, and slightly different cheats us out of "life that is truly life."
2. Who are your saints- whose life is full of God? What do you see in them? Is it in you? (This is not a place for lame answers. Be honest- not for my sake but your sake and our sake- for a community that needs people full of God. Only share if you want.)
I appreciate what McLaren in his book "A New Kind of Christianity" says: "So our quest calls us first and foremost to nurture a robust spiritual life-not only a deep commitment to serve God, but also a deep desire to know and love God, to make room, as Gamaliel said , for God to be truly in us and in our quest. That means that we need as our models more than great thinkers and theologians; we need great saints; women and me of the Holy Spirit, women and men who are full of God."(italics mine)
Two thoughts:
1. People think of a "model" as perfect or an ideal. Not sure that is the best way to think about this concept in todays culture. I do not want to copy someone because it destroys my uniqueness and can shift my self-perspective. Better to understand a desire to train my live to "see" people who are full of God.
What does that look like? If we do not know what that looks like we may catch ourselves emulating something slightly different, and slightly different cheats us out of "life that is truly life."
2. Who are your saints- whose life is full of God? What do you see in them? Is it in you? (This is not a place for lame answers. Be honest- not for my sake but your sake and our sake- for a community that needs people full of God. Only share if you want.)
I don't really have any that I know personally. Maybe a few authors or bloggers would come close, but I really don't know them. What I see in them is the fact that they put action to their words. They speak honestly and boldly. Is that in me? Probably, but I often live in fear, rather than faith.
ReplyDeleteWho are yours Bob?
Looking back I see some saints like Mark Butrum who late in his life went back to school and became a minister. I would also say that Joyce Barnes and Brenda Thoman as far as people in the burg that you may know. I have a few others like Michael Curtis, Caleb Plumb, and Tim Hawkins who have pioneered ideas and ways of thinking that I personally was challenged with.I think there are others. I believe this is difficult for us because many of the people that are "visible" in the church are not necessarily the "saints" to which McLarin writes. I think we have to start recognizing these people and ask ourselves (or them) how do I get there or how did you get there? I also would agree that all of these people put their faith into action but more than that they desired something different not just because it was different but because they believed it aligned itself with God more clearly than where they were. They were/are compelling disciples who are living a story worth actually living!
ReplyDeleteWait,.. I didn't see my name. I'm kidding of course. But, I said that because while I know those people, I really don't know them very well, and I bet if you were to ask them, they would probably not say they were. My point being that they exhibit humility.
ReplyDeleteI think my hang up here is with the three words, "full of God". Does that mean mostly full, or completely full? I truly wonder if anyone can be completely full, given the world in which we live in. To be completely full, one must be completely empty. I'm just wondering if that's even attainable. I can certainly think of several saints, but I'm not sure that being full of God is what qualifies them as such.
What I do know is that I pray almost daily to be emptied and filled with God. I don't think it's just a one time thing, and you're covered for the rest fo your earthly life. I think it's a day to day thing. And, I know this probably makes no sense, but that's my thinking on that today.