I have taked a reading hiatus from "surprised by hope," this week. I continue to chew on the first 100 pages I have read.
What is the Christian hope? Is it smoke and mirrors or something real? Have we understood correctly what it is we hope for - who we hope in? Have we accurately portrayed this hope, the real hope, to others or do I just try to make people "feel good" in this troublesome life?
These seem to be big questions to me. Good questions. Hard Questions. Actually, they're necessary and easy questions, the answer is what's hard.
Are you (am I) willing to consider such questions? Saying yes means you may come up with a conclusion other than what you've clung to in the past. That scares some people. It excites me.
So I move forward in reading this book (you should read it too), and re-think hope, heaven, resurrection and the mission of the church I'm excited and look forward to being surprised.
Surprised by something real. Meaningful. Biblical. True. Something worth living for.
embracing life
Another perspective on life, worldviews, and God - and how they all fit together in everyday experience. Simple stuff.
1 Comment
10:21 PM
Normally, I would immediately click out of a blog that started, "I have TAKED a reading hiatus..." but I love ya, so I'll be generous! :)
I think it's important to stay connected to what's real and good and hope-inspiring about Christianity in the middle of re-thinking it. My experience in re-thinking has been a difficult one because at times I have lost contact altogether with my faith, and truly become one of those who 'go through the motions' while claiming I was simply examining where I put my faith. Maybe in some ways it was necessary for me to detach from my tradition-infused version of Christianity in order to come back to something real, but maybe I could have been "surprised by hope" in the process, too, if I had remained connected to it. I don't know if this makes any sense - basically, I just mean that there's value of course in re-evaluating something if it's just been handed down to you and you've never thought about it for yourself. But there are some potential dark times involved if one disassociates completely from the faith you're questioning. I mean, it's correct to say that the "surprised by hope" part happened for me ultimately, but it sure did seem a long time coming, and there were some seriously lonely times during the process. I guess I would just wonder what it would be like as a community to rethink faith issues while still striving to not let anyone fall through the cracks, so that no one has to wonder what it's like to be "surprised by hope." That's a hope I have for Citywalk.
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