Blue Like Jazz Quote:
“For me, the beginning of sharing my faith with people began by throwing out Christianity and embracing Christian spirituality, a nonpolitical mysterious system that can be experienced but not explained. Christianity, unlike Christian spirituality, was not a term that excited me. And I could not in good conscious tell a friend about a faith that didn’t excite me. I couldn’t share something I wasn’t experiencing. And I wasn’t experiencing Christianity. It didn’t do anything for me at all. It felt like math, like a system of rights and wrongs and political beliefs, but it wasn’t mysterious; it wasn’t God reaching of heaven to do wonderful things in my life. And if I would have shared Christianity with somebody, it would have felt mostly like I was trying to get somebody to agree with me rather than meet God. I could no longer share anything about Christianity, but I loved talking about Jesus and the spirituality that goes along with a relationship with Him.” – Donald Miller, Blue Like Jazz, 2003
I started reading Blue Like Jazz back in 2007. I laid it down somewhere with a pencil still inside. Bruce told me the other day that he was reading it and that the middle to the end of the book was really good. I started back and he was so right. It was good, for me, to be reading right now. Don reminds me of trying to explain Christianity the Religion and Christianity the Relationship. I heard an Italian writer the other day explain that the word Religion means to have a bond to something. I have a bond with our heavenly Father, Jesus the Son of God/Son of Man, and the Holy Spirit. It feels real, is real. Any bond I have with Christianity comes about because of my bond (relationship) with the Trinity (Father, Son and Spirit).
I hate that Good Friday was necessary to get a Resurrection Sunday. But since we can't have one without the other we say, "Bless your holy Name and what a profound expression of LOVE from our one and only LORD. PRAISE BE TO GOD."
“For me, the beginning of sharing my faith with people began by throwing out Christianity and embracing Christian spirituality, a nonpolitical mysterious system that can be experienced but not explained. Christianity, unlike Christian spirituality, was not a term that excited me. And I could not in good conscious tell a friend about a faith that didn’t excite me. I couldn’t share something I wasn’t experiencing. And I wasn’t experiencing Christianity. It didn’t do anything for me at all. It felt like math, like a system of rights and wrongs and political beliefs, but it wasn’t mysterious; it wasn’t God reaching of heaven to do wonderful things in my life. And if I would have shared Christianity with somebody, it would have felt mostly like I was trying to get somebody to agree with me rather than meet God. I could no longer share anything about Christianity, but I loved talking about Jesus and the spirituality that goes along with a relationship with Him.” – Donald Miller, Blue Like Jazz, 2003
I started reading Blue Like Jazz back in 2007. I laid it down somewhere with a pencil still inside. Bruce told me the other day that he was reading it and that the middle to the end of the book was really good. I started back and he was so right. It was good, for me, to be reading right now. Don reminds me of trying to explain Christianity the Religion and Christianity the Relationship. I heard an Italian writer the other day explain that the word Religion means to have a bond to something. I have a bond with our heavenly Father, Jesus the Son of God/Son of Man, and the Holy Spirit. It feels real, is real. Any bond I have with Christianity comes about because of my bond (relationship) with the Trinity (Father, Son and Spirit).
I hate that Good Friday was necessary to get a Resurrection Sunday. But since we can't have one without the other we say, "Bless your holy Name and what a profound expression of LOVE from our one and only LORD. PRAISE BE TO GOD."
- Jim Bentley
1 comments:
Sharing Chirst like Blue Jazz: that sure beats the 4-LAWS method of the 70's, which for me was PAINFUL and so unnatural! Yet it was Christ's command and that was the only way we were taught to do it. Whattodo? In that respect, glad those days are gone! Things are so much better now, and the teaching is so much more in touch with reality in that area.
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