gratitude & hoopla: Take and Read (5)

gratitude & hoopla

"Nothing taken for granted; everything received with gratitude; everything passed on with grace." G. K. Chesterton

14.12.05

Take and Read (5)

I like FoolishBlog. You should read FoolishBlog. The two most recent posts are all about 1 Tim 1:15, Paul's "worst of sinners" statement. Read To Save Sinners and then read (especially) Foremost of All. From the latter I give you the following quote:
All too often I have thought that I was doing my best spiritually when I was most passionate and precise in my critiques of “the church.” I could see everything: legalism here, licentiousness there; hypocrisy on one side, worldliness on the other; affected spirituality in one person, lukewarmness in the next; theology-too-strict on the right, theology-too-loose on the left. I would talk about the desperate need for “revival” and “reformation” in the modern church. I felt very passionate about changing both the church and the world for Christ. I still believe I see all these things, in enough people and in enough ways that it is easier to be sad than happy on any given day. I also still think of and use these terms when they seem justified. I still want God to use me to reform the church and save the world. But I no longer gauge my spirituality on how accurate I think my own ecclesiological criticisms are. At least I try not to. I try to gauge my maturity by how broken-hearted I am over my own sin, how awestruck I am by the glory and grace of Christ, and how consistent I am in genuine, sacrificial love toward others.
FoolishBlog is, btw, a group blog. The author of these posts is David Gunderson, whose personal blog is here. That's where you'll find David meditating on the whole "war on Christmas" theme. I like his take:
Decrying the secularization of Christmas will not make your Christmas Christian. "The meaning of Christmas is not found in a rejection of rank commercialism." The angel didn't say to the shepherds, "Congratulations! You get to celebrate Christmas without any commercialism and gift-buying pressure and Santa Clauses because you're insightful enough to realize what the point really is." No. He said, "Today in the city of David has been born for you a Savior, who is Christ the Lord" (Luke 2:11). There's a massive difference between recognizing the cultural evisceration of Christmas and being humble and passionate and Christ-centered enough to joyfully celebrate Christ.
Hey Gunner, thanks for just saying that. It's one of those "home truths," one of those points of reference that we often stray from, then need to be called back to again and again. Thanks for calling.