“I would have picked that tree clean and set up a farmers stand”. Oh the imagery!! Chris I need to read this 10 times to digest all of the wonder and truth in these words. I feel sure Bonhoeffer is smiling at your powerful teaching on cheap grace. Thank you for blessing my day with this!!
Thanks, Dan. I often wonder how to live into that. To be as if I believed (gave my heart over to grace completely, rather than focussing on what to do to ensure I am worthy.) I even wonder, sometimes, if a determined focus on making God’s love known is a misguided attempt to earn grace - as if it might be denied if I don’t do it well enough…Then it’s not grace, and I am making loving my neighbor an idol, perhaps, A friend reminded me of this recently, and it struck me as the truth: “Love God and do whatever you please: for the soul trained in love to God will do nothing to offend the One who is Beloved.” - Augustine of Hippo.
Yes indeed, I once heard someone say Christianity is unique in that not only does it call you to change what you do, it has the power to change what you WANT to do. I like the image CS Lewis gives in the Great Divorce, where eventually God will give us whatever we want. The scary thing is that it’s on us to learn to want the right things.
Amen and Amen
Blessings Chris and Kathryn
“I would have picked that tree clean and set up a farmers stand”. Oh the imagery!! Chris I need to read this 10 times to digest all of the wonder and truth in these words. I feel sure Bonhoeffer is smiling at your powerful teaching on cheap grace. Thank you for blessing my day with this!!
Thank you, dear Heather. So good to see you yesterday!
And YES the serpent still lives among us!!
I waited my whole work day to read this. Worth the wait. Indeed, grace enough for all of us.
Thanks, Dan. I often wonder how to live into that. To be as if I believed (gave my heart over to grace completely, rather than focussing on what to do to ensure I am worthy.) I even wonder, sometimes, if a determined focus on making God’s love known is a misguided attempt to earn grace - as if it might be denied if I don’t do it well enough…Then it’s not grace, and I am making loving my neighbor an idol, perhaps, A friend reminded me of this recently, and it struck me as the truth: “Love God and do whatever you please: for the soul trained in love to God will do nothing to offend the One who is Beloved.” - Augustine of Hippo.
Yes indeed, I once heard someone say Christianity is unique in that not only does it call you to change what you do, it has the power to change what you WANT to do. I like the image CS Lewis gives in the Great Divorce, where eventually God will give us whatever we want. The scary thing is that it’s on us to learn to want the right things.