Daily Archives: June 22, 2009

A Good Kind of Whooping

Posted on by
1

wrestlingHere’s a twist on the image we often use of wrestling with God.  Credit Simone Weil…

“Isn’t it the greatest possible disaster, when you are wrestling with God, not to be beaten?”

That’s worth a thought.

If you “win” in your struggle with God, what does that mean?

Your way is better?

He’s really a weaker God than the dust-man who just made Him tap out?

Or what?

I’m all for Greco-Romaning with God.  In fact, that description fits real life for me.  But I can’t help running with Ms. Simone’s thought: When the bell rings, the best possible outcome for me after ten rounds would be to come away with a bit of a whooping.

That’s not abuse; that’s just the reality of one man asking to feel the weight of the Heaviest Being around.  And you don’t get out of such meetings without some marks.

Prayer is like Sex

Posted on by
1

I’m doing a series at church on prayer right now.

This illustration is actually begging to be used… but it just doesn’t fit any of my remaining lessons.  So to the blog-cave…

“I think prayer is analogous to sex.  (People’s ears always perk up when I say that.)  Most people would complain about their sex lives; a few do really well.  Sex and prayer are intimate and over-glamorized relationships.  We all are led to believe that we should be in the stratosphere in sex and in prayer.  It sets up a false expectation.  And breaks down intimacy.”

The lady who wrote that later spent several months in Africa, which forced her into a slower pace.  From that place, she added to her notes…

“Again, similar to sex, when we are so busy and filled with the cacophony of life, it is hard to relax, be quiet and communicate.”

And in case the analogy still isn’t clicking for you, Philip Yancy chimes in with a few further thoughts…

“As I thought about her unlikely analogy, it occurred to me that reading a book about prayer has some parallels to reading a sex manual.  What sounds so thrilling on paper bears little resemblance to how sex usually plays out between two vulnerable people who approach it with very different expectations.  Like sex, prayer centers in relationship more than in technique, and the differences between the two parties in prayer are far more profound than the differences between two lovers.  Should it surprise us that problems arise”

P.S. I generally like to brighten up my posts with some relevant pictures.  I thought it best not even to think about Googling anything for this particular post.  So what you see is what you get this time.

Transformed by the Grasp

Posted on by
Reply

There’s little that is sweeter than having a baby fall asleep in your arms.  It’s simply a feeling that lights you up in hard-to-describe ways.  It’s something about their peace and coziness lying there.  You feel their warmth and softness, and you’re sure you could put off whatever else you thought you needed to do.  Why not just stay here?

Peter Rollins talks about a baby in our arms as being a good starting image for understanding God.  Even long before a baby can register two cents’ worth of facts about the one holding them, they are being shaped by the holding.

Or as Rollins says it…

“We are like an infant in the arms of God, unable to grasp but being transformed by the grasp.”

For some reason, today, I really like that sentence.

So consider it blogged.