smiling? thats all i do anymore.

so. reading velvet elvis by rob bell. its pretty great. so far its competeing pretty heavily with my favorite book Blue Like Jazz. thats a weighty statement too. not just any book gets that sort of recognition

so i'm reading and this passage comes up:

[pause, let me preface this a bit. he compares faith to jumping on a trampolene. he talks about the springs and how in faith the springs are statements that are flexible, things about faith that help us understand God but dont define things absoutely, because with God nothing is set in stone--they are a means, not and end. we take them seriously, but keep them in perspective. then he starts talking about how some people act as if their faith is like a brick wall--each brick being a core doctrine, and if you question one, proverbially pull out on brick from the wall, the whole thing wil crumble..so here we go]

"This truth clicked for me last Friday in a new way. Somebody showed me a letter from the president of a large smeinary who is raising money to help him train leaders who will defend Christianity. The letter went on about the desperate need for defense of the true faith. What disturbed me was the defensive psoture of the letter, which reflects one of the things that happens in brickworld: you spend a lot of time talking about how right you are. Which of course leads to how wrong everyone else is. Which then leads to defending the wall. It struck me reading the letter that you rarely defend a trampolene. You invite people to jump on it with you.

I am far more interested in jumping than I am in arguing about whose trampolene is better. You rarely defend the things you love. You enjoy them and tell others about them nd invite others to enjoy them with you.

Have you ever seen soeone pull out a photo from their wallet and argue about the supremacy of this particular loved one? Of course not. They show you the picture and give you the opportunity to see what they see."

i love that. i think thats more profound than most things I've ever heard from people talking about faith. because a lot of christians use their faith like a sheild, deflecting doubts and questions, protecting themselves from harm, when you should be opening your arms and welcoming in the vast human race. you cant share the true God with anyoe when all you do is make people feel like they aren't living a good enough life, aren't good enough christians, aren't good enough FOR GOD. because we all are. You share God when you give people a chance to make mistakes, to question God, and to find Him in their own way, to love Him in their own time, to let Him truly know them. thats when the Jesus magic happens.

i finally feel like i am seeing You for the first time, its been such a long, loooong road, its been dark at times, its been scary. but i found You. Youve been waiting for me this whole time, patiently waiting for me to find my own way. and letting me come to You. and that is beautiful.

that is what loving God is really about.


"...Jesus invites everyone to jump, its an invitation to follow Jesus with all of our doubts and questions right there with us."