Living In The Vision of God
Okay, so I'm still reading Dallas Willard's The Great Omission (and getting to read it a lot, as my kids have been in Texas for the last week!), and I came across the strangest statement. He is actually quoting Henri Nouwen, who said, "Nothing conflicts with the love of Christ like service to Christ." Wow. He goes on to explain that well-meaning service to God has a very strong tendency to undermine the kind of vision of God that fuels greatness for God on the human scene.
He explains the pattern he has seen in so many churches and organizations: Intense devotion to God by the individual or group brings substantial outward success. Outward success brings a sense of accomplishment and a sense of responsibility for what has been achieved - and for further achievement. For onlookers the outward success is the whole thing. The sense of accomplishment and responsibility reorients vision away from God to what we are doing and are to do - usually to the applause and support of sympathetic people. The mission increasingly becomes the vision. It becomes what we are focused upon. The mission and ministry is what we spend our thoughts, feelings, and strength upon. Goals occupy the place of the vision of God in the inward life, and we find ourselves caught up in a visionless pursuit of various goals. Grinding it out. This is the point at which service to Christ replaces love for Christ (95).
I think this describes what I have experienced in several churches. I'm wondering if anyone else has seen this pattern at work or has experienced it firsthand? Is it unavoidable? If not, how do we not lose the vision of God and God alone?
Labels: books, Dallas Willard, Spiritual Formation
posted by Tiffany @ 8/14/2007
9 Comments
9 Comments:
Ahhh... Dallas begins to speak the language I was trying to speak before.
When you say you've redefined "effort" and "commitment", have you?
If you've redefined them in a Christocentric way, the statement Willard made should make perfect sense to you. If you redefined them in an anthropocentric way, his statement will strike you odd--even to the point of being an oxymoron.
Is it Christ who works in us or we who work for him? Does the Great Commission start with "Go and make disciples" or "Behold all authority on heaven and earth had been given to me"? Who's building this church after all, us or Him?
Your mom gave Amy and I a copy of Oswald Chambers' My Utmost For His Highest. Chambers talks about the dangers of working for God as well. Don't know if you've ever been through that or have been through it recently.
Life in the spirit (life in God's power) is a complete departure from self-consciousness to the point of leaving self-awareness. "Those who live in the light come into the light so it can be plainly seen that what they have done has been done by God."
You're teetering on a great revelation here, Tiff. Go for it!
howdy
OK - sorry about the howdy - lost track of my account info - so I sent a test
Now, as far as Dallas Willard is concerned, I read this in an interview he had once (can't remember which publication) and when I read it, it made much sense - I do believe that it is easy to replace the love of Christ with what some consider "service to" Christ. I find that I do that with a number of things in life, most not related to "church". I realized that much of the serving I do within my own family has been attempted in my own power and therefore hinders the love of Christ to shine through. Not only do I fail to allow the love of Christ to direct my actions, but in my attempt to serve in what I consider to be the "best way" - I have, in that very moment, chosen the worst way.
However, though I desire to be conscious of this, if I dwell on it to the point of not serving, then I have neither Christ's love nor the ability to serve from it. I only say this because it's pretty easy to talk yourself out of "doing" for the sake of "being" - Christ did offer the "bread of life" but actually offered it while performing the task of breaking bread and distributing it.
Is it unavoidable - to some degree yes, because even though the Kingdom will be restored one day, it is not yet. However unavoidale, there is no excuse for staying trapped in this cycle. That is why I believe a Sabbath rest is so vital - with out the rest, we will have a difficult time gaining perspective - a Sabbath helps to bring balance / perspective and an opportunity to re-enter reality. This sounds probably totally unrelated, but I think that when a cycle has begun it might need a jumping off point when it begins to cycle inappropriately (boy, this sounds a lot like a washing machine!!)
Loosing the vision comes when we loose sight of who we really are - which is: nothing that amounts to much except dirt without Christ - Apart from him we really can do nothing!
Good morning, Bob...
I'm not so sure that I'm onto any new revelation, as much as diving deeper into an old one... I feel like I've been reading this stuff and processing it for years, but I keep learning it over again at a deeper level. This bothered me once and I talked to a spiritual director about it, to which she replied, "My dear, just because you are learning this again does not mean that you didn't do the hard work before, it just means that God wants to teach you - and heal you - on a deeper level."
I've been reading Oswald Chambers since I was 18 years old and I know (in my head) the dangers of working for God... yet, I've also had the occupation of "pastor" for 15 years in which just the opposite was reinforced. So I'm slowly backing out of the occupation so that I can embrace my calling more fully and authentically. But I seem to keep learning these lessons over and over again.
As far as redefining "effort"... I used to think of it as "trying harder." I now see effort as the grace infused process of "training." To return to Dallas' wise words, "Grace is opposed to earning, not effort... in fact, nothing inspires and enhances effort like the experience of grace. Becoming Christ-like never occurs without intense and well-informed action on our part. Today, we are not only saved by grace, we are paralyzed by it."
Have we become so opposed to activity that we have moved to the other extreme of passivity? Do we not have to be active with Christ in the work of spiritual formation?
I'll save the conversation on "commitment" for another day. :)
Donna,
Thanks for your honesty. I agree -family is one of the places I face this struggle most. I, too, have been thinking more lately about the Sabbath... at Fuller, our professor recommended Marva Dawn's new book on the Sabbath. I thought of you - have you read it?
Tiffany,
I sense that I've offended you by implying that this was all news to you. Reading my comments, I think I did do that. I apologize for my word choices (and me being such a stickler for them...).
That said, I think the idea of God's power, its impact on us, our response, and the Sabbath rest are intimately tied. So much so that only in the reception of God's power in our life can we act in ways that give us entrance to His rest. (And this has nothing to do inactivity/passivity; I'm talking about a peace that transcends all understanding.)
Addenda: Just to clarify, this isn't some sentimental gushy feeling that we talk about in general terms when we speak of conversion experiences. This is a feeling that governs our work, our trials, our blessings, our relationships, our interaction with the world, etc. A disconnect from the "rat race" in general...the things of this world grow strangely dim.
Know what I mean?
Bob,
I know exactly what you mean. I think of it in terms of "soul rest" in which I let go of my burdensome labor and take up his yoke which is easy and light (because it is with him). To me, that is peace that transcends all understanding.
And I was not offended, friend; I sure did not intend to respond defensively either. Thanks for your grace and thoughtfulness!
Then allow me to press further. Do you see a difference in "with Christ" and "in Christ"?
I consistently hear you saying "with" (synergism) as opposed to "in" (monergism).
Maybe now is the time for that definition of "commitment" ;-)
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