Well, its that time of year that I take my annual trek back to rereading another favorite book--"Ordering Your Private World" by Gordon MacDonald. It's timeless...real...moving. I read it each year for fresh insight; to regain balance in my life; for hope.
As I blogged earlier on Andy Nixon's blog for The Loft, I'm always drawn to MacDonald's guote "If just one person could look into the window of my soul and see me for what I really am before God … they would catch a glimpse of several frustrated forces—some good, some bad—fighting for the dominance of my heart. Were it not for the promise of God in Philippians 1:6, I should have doubts regarding the outcome. No one could chart my desperate desire to love Christ. Few would appreciate my hunger to see him break forth in power in my life. Perhaps it is the fate of the Christian never to be satisfied with the status quo."
I'm thankful that I am not satisfied with the status quo---of my soul; of my church; of the mission that God has placed me on. How about you? Is it time for a fresh awakening?
Selah until next time.
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About Me
- Bob East
- The Woodlands, Texas, United States
- "Retired" and active God-Chaser. Member of The Woodlands United Methodist Church and active in The Loft. The church is located in a planned community 35 miles north of Houston. Lofters challenge the unconvinced into considering becoming a follower of Jesus Christ in a next generational setting. Lofters are "go and tell/do Jesus Followers."
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1 comment:
I had this book come up four times in one week culminating in my conversation with you. God is probably wanting me to read this book. After reading the first three chapters I now know why. You are so right about not being satisfied with the status quo. I however got a bit more out of it.
MacDonald refers to the "sinkhole" effect. It happens when we focus all our efforts on our outer appearance and neglect our inner soul or "private world". His illustration of our outer world falling into the void left by us neglecting our inner selves illustrates happenning in my own life. You wake up with a hole and your world that has fallen apart and wonder how did I get here?
The next thing that really struck me was his description of being "driven". This is where we are focused on building our outer world. The world everyone sees. How it applies to everything. I mention this in a post "The Perils of the Driven Church" on my blog
Left of Self Center.
www.leftofselfcenter.com
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