There have been a few blogs about this book already, but I am still trying to grasp a few quotes by Crabb. They are rich quotes that are almost consuming in a sense because they cover so much ground.
"Our fiercest battles are fought when we seek with all our heart to trust God so fully that we see every misfortune as something he permits and want to use, to know him so richly that we turn to no one and nothing else to experience what our souls long to enjoy, to love him so completely and with such consuming passion that we hate anything that comes between us and eagerly give it up."
How I long for such a relationship like this! This describes the struggle to trust, know, and love God that we as Christians face. Another quote that I want to share with you all is that we can really enjoy God's presence.
"The core battle in everyone's life is to relate well to God, to worship him, enjoy him, experience his presence, hear his voice, trust him in everything, always call him good, obey every command) even the hard ones), and hope in him when he seems to disappear. That's the battle the community of God is called to enter in each other's lives."
The purpose of sharing these lengthy quotes is to get to the point of connecting. Crabb describes the beginning of connecting as entering into another's personal battle and empathize with them so that you can experience the pain they are feeling. This is exactly what God wants to do with us, yet we are hesitant. Why? Does He need to prove Himself anymore that He is more powerful than we are, more willing to love after He sent His Son to die for US, or that He is not worthy of our trust? How crazy it is that we forget so fast His forgiveness and sacrifice. He wants to enter our battles. All He is waiting for is the invitation. He embraces us in battle and loves us in the midst of our troubles.
Below is the link for New Way Ministries which is based on Crabb's book.
http://www.newwayministries.org/literature/books/connctng.htm
Jeff, you are right and it is very true that the center of our lives should and is always about Him. It is a good reminder of His gracious grace which He gives us freely so we can be transformed in Him and enter the spiritual battle for each other with certainty that He is in control.
ReplyDeleteIt is so true that we long for the kind of relationship with God described by Crabb in those quotes. Yet we have such a hard time forming that relationship and we struggle to trust Him. Because we learned how to relate to other entities through interactions with other people first, many of us have been hurt. As Dr. Corsini said in our last class, we often relate to God in the same way we relate/related to our primary caregiver. Fortunately, having a relationship with God is not like having one with a human being. God is perfect. Just as you said, He has proven Himself, He has proven His love, it could not be any more clear that He is worthy of our trust.
ReplyDeleteWhile researching for a recent paper I came across an article that said that prayer between two people in person creates a bond that strengthens the relationship regardless of the answer to the prayer. I immediately thought of Connecting. The premises are the same-when love and communication flow from God into an individual then out onto others healing and growth happen. This is a difficult challenge to both counselors and believers in general. Experiencing someone else's world as they experience it is scary and risky. It opens the person up to a vulnerability many are uncomfortable with, but this is where the deep healing and connections can happen.
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed your post as it shows that we are so quick to forget what God has done for us in our lives, and therefore quick to forget what we can do for others. Christ has called us to do a great many things, however He said Himself that the greatest commandment is LOVE. When I think of how we are to love others, there seems to be no end to what we can do to help those in need, however I feel more and more that we do less and less to go out and reach others. We forget that God can to heal our wounds and mend our spirits, and has given us an opportunity to show that love to all those around us. Great post!
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