An Obituary of Sorts…
Posted on May 28th, 2004I decided to stop reading The Purpose Driven Life. Had it been a number of months ago, I probably would have appreciated it more, but I don’t think that finding God can be boiled down to a step-by-step recipe anymore. Furthermore, his ‘steps’ were very general, and rather common-sensical. While there is nothing wrong with that, it didn’t really teach me anything new, nor did it open my eyes to something that I didn’t see before.
Yes, there are some interesting perspectives that he has. In my opinion, the way he presents them, and repeats them ad nauseam was not very well done. I never really did like his formulas to success, because life is different for everyone, and there is no way that the same set of rules will help different kinds of people with different experiences get closer to God. Sure, you can be uber-general and say “1. Love God before all others”, but then you already get what you know: Jesus’ greatest commandment. Those who get it (and I doubt there are many) will find a way to Heaven, but simple, broad guidelines aren’t going to help others who don’t get it.
This partiallly stems from my participation in a discussion group on A New Kind of Christian, the book that I finished before starting The Purpose Driven Life. It’s something that really made me think about the way I treated my faith, and I think it freed me from the rigidity with which I was brought up. Instead of letting Rick Warren tell me what I need to do with my faith, I think it’s up to me to somehow figure it out for myself. Nobody else knows (except God) how I, personally, can get to Him.
The whole “post-modern” bit is really frightening, because I don’t know what new challenges it will bring, but it’s also really exciting, because I do know that what I find for myself will be right for me. It’s going to be a bold step for me, and I will undoubtedly get a lot of criticism for it. I’ll also end up having a lot of difficulties along the way, since this is a path that is hardly travelled, so I’m sure that I’ll get lost. But I’m confident that the guiding light from God will help keep me on track, drawing me every closer to Him.
God, I really hope that I’m on to something here.. it feels thoroughly right to me, and I think that it’s something that You’ve wanted me to know. Please give me the grace and strength that I need to surmount the challenges ahead. Please help all of those around me (and even those not around me) to find what they need to find You… have mercy on them as You have been so merciful to me. Thank You, God, for opening my eyes, for the discussion group, for my life, my friends, Your beautiful creation around me, and all of the things that I so often neglect to appreciate. Thank You, God, for Your Son, who redeemed me and gave me hope for a better life with You. Amen.
