A Theory Soon Coming

I’m working on a theory.

And yes, normally people who know me well cringe when they hear that. So don’t say I didn’t warn you.

It’s something that has been on my heart for a while now, but especially since I got back from my last Asia trip. Really, my hope is that I might figure it out over the rest of my lifetime. Because it is something I don’t know if I will ever come to a conclusion on. All of that is just to say, even though I will probably be posting several writings on this subject, I by no means have it figured out.

A lot of my journal entries of late (by that I mean 2) have been starting with the greatest wondering of my heart. I wonder what it would be like to truly have Jesus’ heart, to really be able to see with His eyes, and to actually have His compassion and justice. There have been fleeting moments in my life when I know I have somehow been able to set aside my selfish nature and all those things were free to come to my heart. But like I said they were fleeting, only in the moment did I accept the grace for Jesus to fully reign.

Yet, among all my wonderings and ponderings of those times, I have stumbled upon something that bothers me.

Do I truly want to be like Jesus, or am I just trying to make Jesus like me?

You know, in my wanting those glimpses of His heart in me to be here always, do I just try to mold Him into what I would behave like?

I’ve read it many times, even memorized the words Paul wrote in Philippians 3:10: “I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death.”

But I wonder. How true is that statement in my heart?

This brings me to my theory. But since this post has already become long, I will wait to put it all down. Instead I’ll just leave a quote that caused me to think when I read it this morning:

“The very scary thing about religion, to me, is that people actually believe God is who they think He is. By that I mean they have Him all figured out, mapped out, and as my pastor, Rick, says, ‘dissected and put into jars on a shelf.’ You’ve got a bunch of Catholics in Rome who think one way about God, and a bunch of Baptists in Texas who think another, and that isn’t even the beginning. It goes on and on and on like this, and it makes me wonder if God created us in His image or if we created Him in ours.”

-Donald Miller, Searching for God Knows What