What on Earth Am I Here for?
If PDL hasn't exactly answered that question for me ... Certainly days 16 & 17 have brought me closer. Does that mean I have finally read something that I can agree with whole-heartedly? WOW! I hope not.
What does it really mean when we hear people say ..."I can really relate to that." Does it mean that we have simply heard something that confirms what we already believe and so there is a greater degree of comfort (read, I'm somewhere on the continuum between arrogance, smugness and relief) or does it mean that the familiar chord struck somewhere deep within is a resonance with a Universal Truth that says "go deeper, there's more here to be known."
For those of you not following along in the book with me. Day 16 is about Love in relationship meaning "love should be your top priority, primary objective and greatest ambition," ...Warren
Relationships are what life is all about. This is a lesson that I learned with difficulty and am still being reminded of with great regularly. I was in a relationship with a former partner for 13 years and to the detriment of our relationship and to my own personal growth clearly made my relationship 2nd and often 3rd or 4th priority in my life. I'll never forget the day when a minister colleague, one of the great teachers of our movement admitted to me sadly that he had for many years given his ministry higher priority than his relationship ... And how he admonished me to never make the same mistake. I made a commitment that if I got a chance to love again I would spell love ... T.I.M.E! Lest you think I'm concentrating on marital or romantic relationships I'm not and at the same time I recognize just how much work I still have to do in this arena as well. That brings me to Day 17 ... A Place to Belong ... The Church or Centre as a relationship laboratory ... really the thrust of all of my work around community and the growth of the Centre
Though there are many things in the PDL with respect to the theology that give me "the willies", when Pastor Rick says you are called to belong, not just believe ... I say "right on". I've spent a good portion of my life struggling to belong my not belonging. What I mean by that is that ... I've found I've been in and out of communities because I was looking to be with ideal people not ...Real people. Have you ever noticed that your life is short on ideal people but filled with real people just like you . People who are annoying, intrusive, short-sighted, insensitive, overbearing, apparently callous, unfeeling and constantly F***king you up. Why is that?
Have you noticed that the same can be said of your Church/Centre? We discover our role in life through our relationships with others. Our path, my path, to spiritual maturity is marked by the times I rubbed up against the ideas and beliefs of the Rick Warren's of my life ... Not to mention the behaviours of ...Well never mind ... You know what I mean.
Relationships ...Ah ... a purpose to live for; people to live with; principles to live by; a profession of faith to live out; a power to live on... a definition of my spiritual community.
What does it really mean when we hear people say ..."I can really relate to that." Does it mean that we have simply heard something that confirms what we already believe and so there is a greater degree of comfort (read, I'm somewhere on the continuum between arrogance, smugness and relief) or does it mean that the familiar chord struck somewhere deep within is a resonance with a Universal Truth that says "go deeper, there's more here to be known."
For those of you not following along in the book with me. Day 16 is about Love in relationship meaning "love should be your top priority, primary objective and greatest ambition," ...Warren
Relationships are what life is all about. This is a lesson that I learned with difficulty and am still being reminded of with great regularly. I was in a relationship with a former partner for 13 years and to the detriment of our relationship and to my own personal growth clearly made my relationship 2nd and often 3rd or 4th priority in my life. I'll never forget the day when a minister colleague, one of the great teachers of our movement admitted to me sadly that he had for many years given his ministry higher priority than his relationship ... And how he admonished me to never make the same mistake. I made a commitment that if I got a chance to love again I would spell love ... T.I.M.E! Lest you think I'm concentrating on marital or romantic relationships I'm not and at the same time I recognize just how much work I still have to do in this arena as well. That brings me to Day 17 ... A Place to Belong ... The Church or Centre as a relationship laboratory ... really the thrust of all of my work around community and the growth of the Centre
Though there are many things in the PDL with respect to the theology that give me "the willies", when Pastor Rick says you are called to belong, not just believe ... I say "right on". I've spent a good portion of my life struggling to belong my not belonging. What I mean by that is that ... I've found I've been in and out of communities because I was looking to be with ideal people not ...Real people. Have you ever noticed that your life is short on ideal people but filled with real people just like you . People who are annoying, intrusive, short-sighted, insensitive, overbearing, apparently callous, unfeeling and constantly F***king you up. Why is that?
Have you noticed that the same can be said of your Church/Centre? We discover our role in life through our relationships with others. Our path, my path, to spiritual maturity is marked by the times I rubbed up against the ideas and beliefs of the Rick Warren's of my life ... Not to mention the behaviours of ...Well never mind ... You know what I mean.
Relationships ...Ah ... a purpose to live for; people to live with; principles to live by; a profession of faith to live out; a power to live on... a definition of my spiritual community.
posted by Rev-T at 6:55 AM
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