This Changes Everything Part 5 (#963)

5 Comments

1. Wayne, I haven’t commented here since 2009. Journey For The Hungry was the episode. January 18. Listening today inspired me to suggest the best explanations of “Justice” I’ve read. It’s a little tough to read through though. It’s the 39th sermon in a series by George MacDonald entitled Unspoken Sermons simply titled Justice.

   It was 15 years ago that I found your podcast. In desperation I just Googled, to the airless stratosphere of the ethernet “I don’t want to go to church anymore”. You threw me a life ring back then. Thank you for your devotion.

   My journey was rough for the subsequent 10 years. I landed at the dead end of a very wrong road. In the wrong town, with the wrong person, I sat on the wrong person’s couch and told Jesus, as best as I could remember him, “I can’t hurt anymore” I somehow envisioned him smiling back at me. Expecting more airless silence I heard “Do you hurt right now?” I looked up trying to see. Vaguely I somehow sensed him just standing patiently in front of me. I had to think… “No… I said, because I’m talking to you”. “But I can’t be alone anymore” I pleaded with him to understand. He smiled again and asked “Do you feel alone right now?” Again, I thought… “No… because I’m talking to you.”
   He smiled again. “I’ve been with you all this time, I’ll be here every moment for the rest of your life.”

   Faith, to me, it’s making something real, that can’t be proven to be real. The last five years has been me doing everything I can do to make him real. He’s been here all the time, I just wouldn’t look at him. Now I look at him many times in the day. I’ve recovered most of all I threw away over those ten years, my family most importantly. I have been a Christian for 50 years, five years ago Jesus saved me. You and Brad were the church greeters that stood outside the building, welcoming me into a reality of life inside Jesus where no one can push me out. Thanks for you help.

   • Alan, I’m touched by your journey and hurt for all the pain you’ve endured, but I love that you’re finding him present now with you and you’ve been able to recover most of what you threw away. Thanks for sharing your thoughts. Others have pointed out that same essay on Justice by McDonald. He was a wise and wonderful writer.

2. Thank you for this conversation, it’s helping so much. I was thinking about the thorn picture and realized a thorn
   also provides protection as well as a seeking for life. My biggest desire growing up was for safety and security. As an adult with precious children to care for, I became involved with a cult that proclaimed it’s own interpretation of righteousness that promised safety. It was very destructive. Jesus returned to me our first love after I suffered a nervous breakdown and He has been growing His life more and more ever since. Thank you for shining even more light on His wonderful ways.

   • That’s very insightful, Kathy. Thanks for posting your insight here. Putting safety above all else can lead us down some dark roads. I’m so sorry for all the pain you went through but glad Jesus is redeeming it in beautiful ways… Blessings to you and your journey.

3. Hi, maybe this comment does not fit the current discussion or at all. I don‘t know, but I just wannted to share this.

   At the moment I am interested in a more contemplative lifestyle and via several strands I came across an emerited baptist professor by the name of E. Glenn Hinson, because aftre reading some catholic stuff on the issue I wanted to get a more evangelical view on this topic. This was all introductory until now.

   He has written a book „Baptist Spirituality“ and in this book he analyses with help of some other sources the change in the way the southern baptists have changed their spiritual orientation. I do not want to pick on the southern baptists. It just feels to me like my own experience with evagelical congregations in germany. The steps he identified were the following (my interpretation):
   1 – personal individual conversion experiences, very spiritual lifestyle which resembles monastic practices (even though the persons would probably decline that they are) and ministers are emphasizing their conversion story
   2 – a conversionist phase („Great Awakening“) with a shift to the conversion as a negotion between man and God. An then later further negotiation based life (if i life righteous, then god will bless etc)
   3 – a pragmatist phase – church is a business to be run (money, decision,…) success is measured in number of converts and church attendance and money, minister curriculum vitae are highlighted by business numbers/achievements
   4 – a seeker phase („Baby Boomers“) – people again ask for the meaning of life and long to find a spiritual connection

   The author calls for a revival of the contemplative lifestyle – if i get him right.

   I found this all very enlightening and it matches some of the things i have seen by my experiences with different (mostly evangelical) entities/fellowships. Perhaps someone might find this topic worth studying, so I just wanted to mention this book.

   I hope nobody finds this to beintrusive or out of place.

   P.S.: I find the distinction between the terms righteousness and justice intriguing. And I can feel the impact this will have on a christians thoughts. I am a bit perplexed though, since in my language (german) ther does not seem to be a special word like „righteousness“. The only thing I recognized is, that justice (Gerechtigkeit) in the justice system seems to be something different than righteousness (Gerechtigkeit) the Luther is using. And I had to stretch my thought life a bit to recognize righteousness (Gerechtigkeit) as something that God gives to me, since I cannot work myself into this on my own strenght. As I am describing this I see that I probably will need some more thinking to get this new information sorted out.

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