I shared in my previous post how a few women from my church have formed a casual book club to read and discuss John Ortberg's "The Life You've Always Wanted," which is subtitled: "Spiritual Disciplines for Ordinary People." We're in chapters 7 and 8 this week, dealing with servanthood and confession.
So far, I can say truthfully that this book is rotting my socks. That's an old expression from "back in the day," my college days specifically. It was a common phrase among the Christian kids I hung out with, to describe a book, or Scripture, or experience that God was using to bless or convict someone spiritually. For example, "That talk by Dawson Bell on losing your first love really rotted my socks! I really need to get back on track."
I've experienced both blessing and conviction as I've been reading. Best of all, I think I learned something new about God. At least, it is new to me: In the same way that God is love, God is joy. Here's Ortberg:
Joy is at the heart of God's plan for human beings. The reason for this is worth pondering awhile: Joy is at the heart of God himself. We will never understand the significance of joy in human life until we understand its importance to God.
He goes on to observe that God's joy simply permeated the act of creation. When he spoke into being the light, heavenly bodies, land, sea and sky, all the creatures that live in them, and human beings, God said they were delightful. Then Father, Son and Holy Spirit had a little dance party. We may tire of sunrises, take the daily sunset for granted, think every daisy looks the same ... but God never tires of them. He is still delighted because his very nature is joy.
God also knows sorrow. Jesus is remembered, among other things, as "a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief." But the sorrow of God, like the anger of God, is his temporary response to a fallen world. That sorrow will be banished forever from his heart on the day the world is set right. Joy is God's basic character. Joy is his eternal destiny. God is the happiest being in the universe.
And there's been plenty of conviction, too. I can see how I need to let God slow me down, to learn what it really means to pray, to give up my stubborn and defensive attitude when I'm criticized. I have so much to learn. But I am not content staying where I am.
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