Dallas Does It Again...
I love every book that Dallas Willard has written, but his newest, The Great Omission, is wreaking me. It always amazes me how God uses books to teach and transform me. Today, I was reading chapter two and it tapped into something I had already been contemplating... the idea of power. God's power. I have become increasingly aware of how often I live in my own power despite my desire to live only in God's power.Dallas writes, "Jesus is actually looking for people he can trust with his power... but only constant students of Jesus will be given adequate power to fulfill their calling to be God's person for their time and their place in the world. They are the only ones who develop the character which makes it safe to have such power" (16-17). I realized as I read this that I have been asking for the power without wanting to pay the price of discipleship. I deeply long to be God's person full of his power, and I am humbled at the thought that perhaps I haven't yet developed the character that makes it safe have that power.
Yesterday, one of my kids did not want to go to bed and declared that he wanted to be the parent so he could stay up late. Cam told him that that would be just fine, and he proceeded to list all of the responsibilities of a parent. "Never mind," my son interjected, and off he marched to bed. Why do we always want the power and privilege without the preparation? My prayer today is for the grace to remain a "constant student" of Jesus... one day at a time.
Labels: Dallas Willard, Spiritual Formation
posted by Tiffany @ 8/09/2007
5 Comments
5 Comments:
Hmmmm...
Not sure what to think about this.
What "power" do you desire? And what sort of works are required to make one "safe" to possess such power?
Sorry, Bob... I kind of took this out of its context. Dallas is talking about how when you walk closely with Jesus, there comes the reliable exercise of power that is beyond ourselves "in dealing with the problems and evils that afflict earthly existence." The fact is that his power is also given to us and we are called to do his work by his power and not our own.
I know the word "power" is a very loaded word in our culture and context. I'm not desiring power as we know it; rather, I want God's power that enables me to live and love as Jesus would live in my place. I just can't do that in my own strength.
I don't think it is a case of works being required as much as the idea that we can't become like our teacher if we don't spend time with him and commit to being students of him and his way of living. My point was just that I've gotten a little lazy of late. And while I shutter at the thought of becoming a legalist, I also know that some effort is required on my part if I want to grow and live in a power that is beyond myself. Does that make sense?
Thanks for the clarification, Tiff. Power certainly is a loaded word, as is legalism and commit and "we can't become like our teacher if we don't spend time with him" and "effort required on my part".
Certainly there is no substitute for spending time with him. But is it out of desire or commitment?
We get "lazy" but what if you looked at laziness (guilt producing) as hunger or thirst instead (identification of a basic need)? When we've "been away" we too often call ourselves lazy. ("should" on ourselves). What if instead we recognized that we've become hungry? A small semantic difference but for me it makes a big difference and changes a "redoubling of effort" to a much needed nourishment from the Bread of Life. The former is tiring, the latter refreshing.
---Can you tell I'm really sensitive to the language we use? ;-)
I don't mean to be critical or overly picky of what you have here, Tiff. I think we both agree that somewhere along the way the Church has lost His Story. And I think that in order for us to reclaim that Story we have to critically look at the language we use to articulate it. We cannot expect to use the same language we've heard for the past 10-20 years and still get the Story back.
Bob,
I agree, and I appreciate your sensitivity to language. I probably wasn't wise to try and wrap words around such a raw encounter with God because words can't adequately explain the exchange that took place. It's a good reminder to me to be careful of the kind of language I use... sometimes I use words that I have redefined on my journey - words like "commitment" and "effort," while forgetting that those words have a long history of oppression and abuse. Thanks for sharpening me.
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