Formulas and poetry...

I have been reading Donald Miller's book Searching for God Knows What. In this book so far the one thing I have gotten out of it is the fact that God is not as easy as a formula but is a complex being that cannot be explained in mere words or illustrated accurately with a pencil or paintbrush. That his glory goes beyond anything describable by man. No matter how beautiful the painting or the words that try to describe the most powerful being in the entire universe that are attempts to describe and understand him are feeble and laughable at best. “I wondered if when we take Christian theology out of the context of its narrative, when we ignore the poetry in which it is presented, when we turn it into formulas to help us achieve the American dream, we lose it’s meaning entirely, and the ideas become fodder for the head but have no impact on the way we live our lives or think about God. This is, perhaps, why people are so hostile toward religion.” (Donald Miller pg. 58 Searching for God Knows What).

Turning God into a formula or routine is the most disgraceful thing in my mind that we as followers of Christ can do to him, we take all his emotion and remove it when we tell him I just need to say this, then believe this, then act this way. This idea takes away in emotion that God has for us and without emotion all of it is pointless. If God was emotionless there would have been no need for him to send his son to die the most excruciating death known to man, or for him send anyone to hell, there would be no need for mercy, punishment, grace, love, justice, joy, righteousness, or anger. Emotions are what makes the God of the Bible different from any other religion. The gods of other religions say do this or you die live this way or you die. My God says I want to save you because I love you and I don't want any of my children to have to experience eternal damnation. The Bible uses these subtle poems in its text that can be easily overlooked but allow for the greatest insight into Gods emotions and personality.

Poetry is a way to express emotion beyond common words through the way it flows or describes an emotion in a way that a person can understand and feel a connection to. Poetry creates a feeling that other literature cannot because there is emotion behind it that can inspire. Poetry is not just 4 lines a stanza and 3 stanzas granted that can be equally raw or deep if written with passion, or poetry that has a ton of hidden messages. I am talking about music and the poetry that comes right out and says what it means. That when read causes people to stop and think because it has truly had an impact, the poetry that when read or heard is so profound that you have to take a step back read it again and think how does this change what I believe about who I am or who God is.

this is my 2 cents

Focus...

God gives us so many opportunities to experience Him and how many times do we pass these opportunities up thinking I am too busy or I can do it later. Why do we justify this thinking? Why do I put off what should be the most important thing in my life to do the things that make me happy in the short term but bring me no real gratification in the end? The idea that I pass up these experiences kills me, that I may ignore the person who loves me enough to die for my sins, that I can go about my day ignoring God for this reason or that. Because I don't want to take a look at my life or see where I messed up. What keeps me from dedicating my life solely for Him and nothing more?

this is my 2 cents