Have you noticed that in our current cultural climate there is very little room for the idea of God? Unless of course it's to invoke God to justify your political agendas. In our postmodern era, we are increasingly dependent on science, technology—and our own selves!—to stake out all the truth we need to live. God is regularly marginalized as some sort of primitive or naive projection. While I have no bone to pick with science, it must be said that it simply cannot provide us with things like ultimate truth, meaning, purpose, wisdom and love. And yet this loss of faith in a transcendent supreme being is deeply embedded in our culture and thought. While some say this liberates us as humans, many others note a growing emptiness and anxiety among us. Many now ask—and with growing urgency—"What's the point of it all? Why are we even here?"
There is a God void in human existence now, flattening the transcendence from our life experience and removing not only wonder and mystery, but meaning and hope for a better future.
That said, there are still many who believe in God and are religious, but they too suffer from the limits of our collective imagination. Yes, God exists, but now resides somewhere on the edge of the universe, far, far away. Our secular, everyday world doesn't have room for God, even for believers! For so many people, one's employment has nothing to do with God but is simply a means of providing or advancing one's personal goals—not that there's anything wrong with either of these. But if these are the primary purposes for us, then life is pretty much about me, myself and I. We have left not only God out of the equation, but any universal, sustaining meaning. More and more we ask, "Is this what life is about, the daily rat race to make ends meet or climb the ladder of success?" If so, there is the growing sense that that is not enough.
Of course, Christians also believe in obeying the Ten Commandments and being a good person, but often as some sort of test or trial to gain the favor of God. And so we stress avoiding transgressions rather than proactively helping others. And what we call "doing good" is typically left to volunteering at church or a food shelf. In other words, extracurricular activity. So, keep your nose clean and try to tack some charity onto your life.
Two observations about a great many religious minded folk: first of all, they are living their best Christian life while God looks on in judgment, but they are on their own. Second, most of their lived life has no clear connection to God. Faith and life are disconnected. And so, Christians also ask the question: "What is the point of it all?" Trying to do some good things helps a bit, but in a world like ours, it does seem like a drop in the bucket, does it not?
Unlike the Enlightenment God of Deism who winds up creation like a clock and then sits back and watches it tick away, the God of the Bible, the Church fathers, and people like Martin Luther, is all in with the world we deem secular and unholy. This world matters to God because God made it! The God who created the world is also deeply invested and even present in the very matter of that world—human beings and all life. Not content to be an idle presence, God in Christ through the Holy Spirit is continually creating anew within this world so that life might thrive to its fullest. God through Christ and the Holy Spirit is continuously creating, sustaining, and re-creating life while restraining all that diminishes life. I wrote this book as a proclamation that God is loose in the world!
I also wrote this book as an invitation. The invitation is a calling from this God-in-the-world to participate in life by partnering with God as a co-creator of a more trustworthy, loving and hopeful world. And each of is called in unique ways that conform to and utilize our vast giftedness! GPS: Finding Direction on Faith and Life's Journey is a book that explores God's deep commitment to we human creatures through the many gracious and unmerited gifts that come our way—gifts that we too easily take for granted. These gifts are given in love for our own delight and pleasure, but they also given to be utilized in mission with God.
The gift of meaning that only the creator can give to his creatures.
The gift of the places where you live your life and the people who are there.
The gift of your own story in all its uniqueness, joy, and painfulness.
The gift of your values and passions that give you both energy and guardrails for life.
The gift of your personality that defines your particular way of being in the world.
The gift of your natural abilities that allows you to excel at certain things.
The gift of promise that our current broken world is only pen-ultimate, awaiting completion.
The gift of a new self in Jesus Christ.
The gifts of the Holy Spirit for building up the body of Christ.
The gift of the freedom from the forces of guilt, shame and despair to fully be yourself.
The gift of hope in the kingdom of God as God's answer to human history.
The gift of partnership with others in fellowship and friendship.
This is our invitation, our calling. Our gifts are pivot points that help us to see how God is calling us to partner with him in the world as co-creators. And so, in GPS we will also explore how it is that our own life story can help our neighbor find hope and encouragement, or how our personality can be a means by which God touches the life of someone who needs what your unique personality can deliver. As the book progresses we see how the gifts of God's own re-creation through Christ are never just for me, but intended for my neighbor through me.
I hope you will go on the GPS journey, either by yourself or with others. Order the book today!
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