My friend Josh sent me a really encouraging email this morning and in it he quoted part of a book he's reading. The book is called "A Glimpse of Jesus" by Brennan Manning, and here's the section I received this morning.
It ought to be noted that the Kingdom of God is not an abstraction. It is a concrete, visible, and formidable reality forged by the personal commitment of many members. A commitment that does not issue in humble service, suffering discipleship, and creative love is an illusion. The world has no interest in abstractions, and Jesus Christ is impatient with illusions: "Everyone who listens to these words of mine and does not act on them will be like a stupid man who built his house on sand." (Matt. 7:26)."
The one who talks, especially if he talks to God, can affect a great deal," writes philosopher Maurice Blondel, "but the one who acts really means business and has more claim on our attention. If you want to know what a person really believes, don't listen to what they say, but watch what they do."A life of integrity is born of fidelity to the dream. Daily we make choices that are either consistent with or contrary to the gospel vision. The mature Christian harmoniously integrates her faith, intellect, and feeling in consistent and fairly predictable behaviour patterns. The sense of serenity that springs from this internal continuity is self-acceptance. The need for approval and hunger for human respect diminish in proportion to our integrity. (The Scriptures call it righteousness, but the word has a pejorative tone in our times, as does piety, and both ought to be scrapped until such time as words are restored to their original meaning. They conjure up notions of legalism, spiritual superiority, and sanctimonious moralism that would make Jesus shudder.)
Each Christian gives flesh and bone to the dream with her unique, mysterious, and irreplaceable personality. The Word of God calls into being a faith-community characterized by unity without uniformity. Jesus is the way, but his light is refracted in myriad ways by multiple personalities.
So thanks for the quote Josh. And also for making me laugh out loud...wow, I'd completely forgotten about that incident with the doorframe and the vase...maybe due to the large bump on my head?
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