second call.

[this is kind of part two of the post right after this one (but before this post in terms of the date)].

I've been reading 'The Ragamuffin Gospel' since I've been back from Brasil. I love this book. In my current venture through the 200 page paperback, I've pulled even more from it than in previous readings, and have been able to better apply it to my life, which is always a good thing. Recently I read a chapter towards the end entitled 'A Second Call' (which I read this past week after hearing the sermon on first loves. God was definitely trying to get through to me this week).

Brennan Manning talks about a crises of Faith Hope and Love in this chapter- several things stuck out to me:
1. Routine makes things dead. Each day is new. 'The moment I think I understand is the moment I don't understand.'
2. 'If our faith is going to be criticized, let it be for the right reasons.' Not because we are emotional or passionate but that we are not emotional or passionate enough.
3. Christianity doesn't deny the reality of evil and suffering.
4. Our God's love is not dignified at all. And that's the way He expects our love to be. Manning describes His love as even embarassing at times- God wants the same from us. And even for us to love others in the same embarassing way.
5. God 'expects more failure from me than I expect from myself.'
6. 'The Christian with depth is the person who has failed and has learned to live with it.'
7. 'The real challenge of Christian growth is the challenge of personal responsibility.'

That's a lot of heavy stuff. Perhaps the 7th idea sticks out to me the most- while the others are all things that I understand, or have no heard, or know I don't have a clue about, the final statment on growth has been evident in my life this summer, and it's something I've come to realize through both things I've accomplished, and things I haven't but have wanted to.

That's a really long sentence. Basically, I've been growing a lot in the area of personal responsibility and while I still have a lot of growing left to do, it will hopefully take place over the rest of my life in due time.