Wednesday, May 09, 2007
Boy Howdy!
So, upon reflection, this is the best Lenten blog post I read. It's from John Mark Reynolds and it reviews Augustine and looks at transformation.
The point is so well taken. Have you ever noticed that you only complain about the cost of something when it is something you have to buy, but probably do not want? Cost is unimportant when the desire is strong enough, and so it is with the gospel. So why when the news is so good is the desire so low?
Could it be, as JMR says, "because we have not tasted enough of divine love?" I think so. The best way to make new Christians is to become better Christians ourselves. we have to show why it is "worth it."
Our vision is so narrow.
Related Tags: Augustine, John Mark Reynolds, transformation, gospel
So yes, becoming a Christian costs happiness and promises pain. We are not the religion of the Cross for nothing.Indeed, Christianity is a "hard sell." And so often we respond to this fact by selling only a part of the gospel, and yet in so doing we deny people the real benefits of the product.
[...]
Christianity promises long term happiness, but to obtain it requires giving up short-term joys. Now in a culture where almost nobody can even work up the discipline to save for their own retirement (where the benefit is obvious, fairly certain, and not that far off!) this is a hard sell.
[...]
Christianity, when it is really accepted, results in a change in the believer. The believer is “born again” and can begin to desire new things. The old quest for meaning and true happiness is fulfilled, at least in part, even in this life. The things he has to “give up” do not seem like “giving up” compared to what he has gained!
[...]
All our love must end in God. To love even the good things He has made creates an idol and causes love to stagnate far from its source. And yet many of us are afraid to give up our little, unsatisfying passions, because they are ours, seem certain, and are all we have.
[...]
We read of Holy Martyrs, Missionaries, and Ascetics and can only think how rigorous their lives were. We see only what they have lost and ignore what they claim they have gained. Is this because we have not tasted enough of divine love?
[...]
Compared to the joys of the martyrs and other great saints, no opposition matters. The temptation of respectability in this life seems hollow when we can gain the favor of the High King of Heaven. The endless attempt to find pleasure and rest in earthly things seem almost funny, when we see that loving God has given us a keener appreciation for the goods He returns to us in super-abundance. [emphasis added]
The point is so well taken. Have you ever noticed that you only complain about the cost of something when it is something you have to buy, but probably do not want? Cost is unimportant when the desire is strong enough, and so it is with the gospel. So why when the news is so good is the desire so low?
Could it be, as JMR says, "because we have not tasted enough of divine love?" I think so. The best way to make new Christians is to become better Christians ourselves. we have to show why it is "worth it."
Our vision is so narrow.
Related Tags: Augustine, John Mark Reynolds, transformation, gospel
