The Invitation of a Lifetime: 2005/09

Wednesday, September 07, 2005

The Question: Jesus' Pursuit, Part 1

Be prepared to meet Him Who Knows How to Ask Questions.
-T.S. Elliot

When Jesus speaks to the disciples (who really, at that point, weren’t yet disciples) in John 1:38, he asks them, “What do you want?” Now, that in itself isn’t necessarily all that profound. I’m asked that question quite a few times a day. I ask it of myself when I’m in the drive-thru line or the 16 year-old kid with the Taco Bell hat asks it of me when I’m in line thinking seriously about one of those yummy crunchy tacos they have. My wife will sometimes ask it if me in the evening when we have a wide open few hours to do whatever we want to do together. Even the little dog on my computer screen that pops up when I need to search for something has a bubble above his head and the question, "What Are you looking for?"

So what’s so special about this time when Jesus says it? (As a sidenote, I’m just going to start living like everything that Jesus says carries a really deep truth, because I mean, afterall, he is the Truth, so it seems natural that just like a fountain gushes water because that’s what it does, Jesus is going to gush truth. It’s Dallas Willard’s contention that the reality that Jesus is the smartest and most clever man that ever lived doesn’t often enter our minds when we think of him as Teacher and Master of Life, and that is tragic.)

To get a clear idea what Jesus is really saying, and why, let’s set the stage a bit…

Continued in Setting the Stage: Jesus' Pursuit, Part 2

(Thanks, K, for the T.S. Elliot quote)

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Recommended Readings

Imitation of Christ by Thomas a Kempis - These five hundred year-old meditations on the life and teachings of Jesus are rich with the love of God and instruction in prayer and discipleship.
Selected Poetry by George Herbert - 17th century British poet whose poetry is infused with biblical and liturgical imagery and love for God.
Unspoken Sermons by George MacDonald - Rich and deep wisdom and insight from the passionate Scottish believer.
Orthodoxy by G.K. Chesterton - As a journalist, Chesterton found "orthodoxy" to be a very acute word, and the exact description of what keeps us sane, when everyone around him thought it to be bad. “When ever we feel there is something odd in Christian theology, we shall generally find that there is something odd in the truth.”
Confessions by St. Augustine - Augustine was an intensely passionate man after God, but he came to Christ through tumultuous waters. Here he tells his story.
The Wisdom of Each Other by Eugene Peterson. - Most well-known for authoring the paraphrase of the Bible The Message, here Peterson explains how friendship is a vital way that God answers our need for affirmation, correction, encouragement, and guidance. We need more understanding of how conversations between friends is the meeting place of heaven and earth (Matthew 18:20).
The River Within: Loving God, Living Passionately by Jeff Imbach - This is an incredibly helpful book on living within the river of God's life within.
Dangerous Wonder by Mike Yaconelli - The late self-proclaimed lay-pastor Mike Yaconelli tells his journey of recapturing the joy of being a child in his relationship with God. This book helped to ignite in me an innocent hunger for the thrill of knowing God.
The Silence of Adam by Dr. Larry Crabb, Don Michael Hudson, and Al Andrews - An eye-opening discussion on the silence (the acquiescence) of man since the Fall and how Christ has come to draw us out from that silence.
Soul Salsa by Leonard Sweet - This is Leonard's proclaimation on spiritual living in the postmodern world.
Hearing God--Developing a Conversational Relationship with God by Dallas Willard - One of the best books on learning to hear God (which is, by the way, one of the most crucial and life-giving disciplines of all of the Christian walk).
Healing the Masculine Soul by Gordon Dalbey - A discussion of the wound in men's souls since the Fall and what it means to receive healing and freedom when men get real with themselves, with God, and with other men.
Who I Am in Christ by Neil Anderson - This devotional from Freedom in Christ ministries is packed full of scriptures and stories concerning our new identities in Christ.
The Reflective Life by Ken Gire - Gire makes a case for the importance of living reflectively and contemplatively as the way to hear God's voice and be captured by Him.
This World: Playground or Battleground? by A.W. Tozer - Helpful to begin understanding what "kind of tale we have fallen into." What kind of world is this we live in?
A Violent Grace by Michael Card - Card explains with passion and insight how far God went to restore humankind to Himself.
Into the Depths of God by Calvin Miller - Destined to become a classic. Miller is a poet, a pastor, and a prophet. I have much to learn from him.
Diary of an Old Soul by George MacDonald - A man who lived his life close to the heart of God - here are his conversations with the Living One.
Telling the Truth: The Gospel as Tragedy, Comedy and Fairy Tale by Frederick Buechner - This brief but powerful book shows us how we are to hear the Gospel, if we are to hear it at all.
The Ragamuffin Gospel by Brennan Manning - Nobody speaks about grace, that "active expression of God's love" as Manning does.
An Arrow Pointing to Heaven by James Bryan Smith - The biography of one of my mentors, Rich Mullins.
The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis - His allegory stories to Kingdom life, these books are very helpful for every aspect of our lifes with God. Really, find and read anything by Lewis.
Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra - A brilliant metaphor for Christ's fierce love for us... could Cervantes have known?
One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez - a metaphor for our life together as a Body.
The Sacred Romance by John Eldredge & Brent Curtis - Such a helpful book on understanding the Story of the Gospel and beginning to take our place in it with the Creator and Pursuer.
The Divine Conspiracy byDallas Willard - A thick but well-balanced book describing "The Kingdom Among Us" and how we are to live in it.
The Pursuit of God by A.W. Tozer - Start with this book, and return to it often. Tozer describes God's passionate pursuit of our hearts.
What's So Amazing About Grace? by Philip Yancey - Yancey's stories in here are deeply compelling and serve as kind of parables to understand the heart of Christ.