Lions who are lambs

Continuing my lunchtime reading of The Jesus of Suburbia, today's section talked about the problems Christians have identifying the true enemy and what our posture should be in the face of them:

As much as we are tempted to view culture or individuals as our enemies today, this text reminds us of the greater conflict being waged around us and our place in that conflict. Our bosses, annoying neighbors, immoral movie stars, and cultural icons-none of these are our real enemy. They may be used by the enemy, but they are not the enemy.-Chapter 8

When we, as a church act as if the these tools of the enemy are THE ENEMY, we are missing the boat. And, when we fight the true enemy (Satan), we are to overcome him as Christ did: "through sacrificial love and perseverence through suffering...We become lions who are lambs."

Mystery and paradox

Some snippets from today's lunchtime reading of The Jesus of Suburbia:

We have made a god out of our intellects. We worship God only when he makes sense. God reveals himself as a God we will never figure out. And yet we can know him intimately. That paradox sets us free.-Chapter 7

God is bigger than, more powerful than and more majestic than we can grasp. We can not understand the fullness of Him nor the ways in which He works. However, this is the God we should worship, not the small piece of Him which we THINK we understand.

Adding on

One of the best new habits I have developed is to spend time before bed reading from one of the many spiritual books I have. During Advent, I read each night from the book (Watch For The Light: Readings For Advent And Christmas) which my minister gave to me. I have already purchased another similar book for Lent (Bread And Wine: Readings For Lent And Easter). In the meantime, I read more from my minister's book (The Theological Implications of Climate Control: Reflections on the Seasons of Faith) which follows the church calendar. I finished up the chapters on Ephiphany Wednesday evening. Right now, I'm trying to figure out what I'm going to read in the evening until Lent, but I read a little from a Beth Moore book last night.

I'm going to start doing this same thing during lunch at work. I have a couple of books here already, including The Jesus of Suburbia: Have We Tamed the Son of God to Fit Our Lifestyle?which is a great book. I enjoyed another chapter in it today. Here's what struck me in it today:

When we think most of our days are spent doing things that are not spiritual or sacred in God's sight, we subjugate Jesus to simply being our forgiver.

Pretty thought provoking, as this whole book has been.