I started in on Francis Chan's new book. I'll admit that I wasn't too impressed with the first thirty or so pages. But then he impressed me. Check out some of these quotes:
Now I'm not very far in the book, but I found these statements in particular both challenging and comforting. Knowing that there is a God like this is humbling. Knowing that my God is this in control I'm ok with. But that also means that sometimes I don't get the answers I want. And the reason for this is because I'm not in charge. Obvious, yes, but overlooked.
We don't get to decide who God is. "God said to Moses, 'I am who I am'" (Ex. 3:14). We don't change that. (p. 31)
Don't we live as though God is created for us, to do our bidding, to bless us, and to take care of our loved ones?
... we keep questioning Him: "Why... are so many people dying of starvation? Why... is my family so messed up?"
... The answer to each of these questions is simply this: because He's God. He has more of a right to ask us why so many people are starving. (p. 33)
Can you worship a God who isn't obligated to explain His actions to you? Could it be your arrogance that makes you think God owes you an explanation? (p. 33)
God is the only Being who is good, and the standards are set by Him. Because God hates sin, He has to punish those guilty of sin. Maybe that's not an appealing standard. But to put it bluntly, when you get your own universe, you can make your own standards. (p. 34)
Now I'm not very far in the book, but I found these statements in particular both challenging and comforting. Knowing that there is a God like this is humbling. Knowing that my God is this in control I'm ok with. But that also means that sometimes I don't get the answers I want. And the reason for this is because I'm not in charge. Obvious, yes, but overlooked.
2 comments:
I like that one of your tags in the article is 'crazy.' Francis Chan is a mix. He is a really good and loved at APU, but he is also a big MacArthur fan. he plays to both sides of the aisle better than most and is an extremely gifted speaker and I guess writer now too.
Good quotes... the sort of spirituality he seems to be arguing against is appropriately very similar to the animistic spirituality that existed in Canaan in the Middle-Late Bronze age. The Torah could be seen as a manifesto for a counter-cultural spirituality, one that holds God not as someone we can manipulate through the sacrificial system but one who deserves sacrifice despite whether his response may be in our favor. "He has more of a right to ask us why so many people are starving." Good stuff!
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