*This was written to my guy counselors this summer while I was serving as a head counselor at a camp in northern California.
Hello, Hello!
Well, guys, we've made it through two weeks! I'm really proud of you all; this last week was not easy for a few of us, but I am proud to say that you guys made it. I feel honored and blessed to work with all of you. I really couldn't ask for a better group of men to work with in this environment and I hope that through the week I actually do get the chance to say that to you all personally. So, I hope that perhaps you all had some time to spend with Mr. Tozer this last week. He is an incredible thinker and I highly recommend his work to you guys, if you ever get the chance to read it.
This week I want to focus on something a bit more uncomfortable: who we are as Christians. Donald Miller is one of my favorite authors. A lot of his thoughts and questions have really moved me forward in my faith, challenging me to be uncomfortable in my theologies and belief. I believe it is in these rifts of discomfort that we begin to truly see the heart of God. It is commonly heard in the church for a Christian to ask God to diminish himself in order that God make Himself greater, but I think that request should include pride in one's belief as well. We are not better because we are Christians, my friends; we are fortunate, and our boasting should not come from our principals and rules, but instead on how we, such undeserving creatures, have been blessed with God's abundant grace and love. It is God's love, and our acceptance of it that saves us, not our pride in our denominations, our churches our principals or theologies. These things were made by man and his finger prints are laid all over them. But man is flawed and imperfect; therefore, so are his creations. Love alone sets us free, dear brothers, Love and Love alone.
In this passage (from Blue Like Jazz, involving the confession booth), we see Donald Miller express that he is no great Christian, no great man, but someone who has faltered and failed, and admits this, not to another believer, but to an unbeliever. That is humility, that is the diminishing of the self. We are not great by any mean or measure. Does God use us as individuals? Yes, but of course! Are we unique in how God uses us? Most definitely! But it is by His will and grace. I don't know about you all, but for me to know that I am flawed, that I can sit down with an unbeliever and tell them that I am not perfect, that I can't live like Christ even at my best, is an amazing relief. Why? Because I can say it is Christ, all of it is Christ. I claw my way through the hard times, and rough seas because of Christ, I can cry with joy at the most painful experiences because there, with me, is Him, Jesus. I am not, but He Is. Why can I sit there and tell a nonbeliever that I am flawed, that I am failing miserably at being a Christian on my best day? Because I want them to know that I am not, but Christ Is. Being good and right is not my nature: it isn't in me. Up until the moment I was saved, I caused hurt and pain and lived life in the most self destructive way that I knew how, because there was nothing else for me. Any good that comes from me is Him; that I even have the courage to say that I am flawed is Him. My faith isn't about them going to hell, it’s about the fact that I was saved from it, and my pride is nothing compared to spreading the Truth, which is our Savior.
** Following this was an excerpt from Blue Like Jazz about Donald Miller's experience at Reed College in the confession booth talking to a student about how he apologizes for not living up to what a Christian should be. If you haven't read the book, I highly suggest it!
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