Last night I read the most compelling depiction of a Christian ever. It made me close the book, sigh, turn off my light, settle into my pillow and pull my comforter up nice and snug and whisper, "now THAT makes me want to be a Christian!"
I am finally wrapping up A Generous Orthodoxy and McClaren's chapter, "Why I am Incarnational" moved me like none other. I won't attempt a trite summary of a very long, complex and provocative chapter, but I will highly recommend that anyone with frustrations about or dreams for the church read this book and this chapter in particular.
I believe I am beginning to see redemption in a very different light, in a broader context, through a much wider lense. I can be a Christian if that means that it is sinful for me to consider myself superior to my neighbors of other religious traditions. I can be a Christian if that means that my "prime directive" is to love the God of the universe and be transformed so that I can, in turn love all of his creation, with the hope of the priviledge of participating (however minimally) in his work of redeeming his creation. I can be a Christian if that means that participating in God's work of redeeming others is inextricable from his work of redeeming me. I can be a Christian who shares her faith with someone of another faith, if humility requires that I be open to what I can learn from theirs as well (my own redemption). I can be a Christian if that means that I am redeemed by the God of the universe, following the way of Jesus, humbled by God's limitless means to reach the hearts of all men, of all faiths and cultures. If that's what being a Christian is about, I can do this.
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