“The task of future Christian leaders is not to make a little contribution to the solution of the pains and tribulations of their time, but to identify and announce the ways in which Jesus is leading God’s people out of slavery, through the desert to a new land of freedom. Christian leaders have the arduous task of responding to personal struggles, family conflicts, national calamities, and international tensions with an articulate faith in God’s real presence. … The Christian leaders of the future have to be theologians, persons who know the heart of God and are trained—through prayer, study, and careful analysis—to manifest the divine event of God’s saving work in the midst of the many seemingly random events of their time” (Nouwen 87-88, emphasis mine).
This is probably one of my favorite quotes from the whole book. It reminds me of Hebrews 4:12: "For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart." I feel like a lot of In the Name of Jesus is about living in the flesh vs. living in the Spirit - living from solutions vs. living from relationship. Apparently, Christians having opinions hasn't really done much for the world, and that's because the world needs Jesus more than our ideas. I think we are back in the garden where we started - the place where we had everything and yet thought we were lacking something.
Through reading the book and processing what I read, I've seen how solution-oriented I can be. DT comes in, has an issue. Well let's solve it! Let's figure it out. Jesus help us figure it out. And that's not entirely wrong, but it's missing the mark. Instead of problems being obstacles getting in the way of us and Jesus, they are actually the kairos that Nouwen is talking about. Our divine moment to ask, Who is He? What is He saying? In every circumstance, it's like Nouwen said - opportunities to "manifest the divine event of God's saving work," rather than give a quick-fix answer to a problem.
Meh.
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ReplyDelete(Okay, okay, I'm really posting this time. I should really learn to proofread things before I post them...)
ReplyDelete"Apparently, Christians having opinions hasn't really done much for the world, and that's because the world needs Jesus more than our ideas. I think we are back in the garden where we started - the place where we had everything and yet thought we were lacking something."
I just love that. I can't add to it, save for maybe an "Amen!", but I had to at least quote you on it. :)
Wow. You bring up an excellent point. Often the temptations the book brings up are the easier path to take, probably because they are more natural to our society. I have similar trouble in DTs; it's easier and more natural for me to try and solve the problem than see it as a catalyst and an opportunity for ushering in God's love. Like Nouwen says, "we have been tempted to replace love with power." The same thing applies to being discipled. I often want to find a solution rather than to come face-to-face with the love of Jesus and the way that he is moving. What a radical, beautiful, change in mindset: to come to face my own problems as divine opportunities and not just things in the way that "need fixing."