Blue Like Humility

Donald Miller, who delivered his last message of the week earlier tonight on the UT campus, said “Christianity isn’t about being cool.” He went on to state that it’s about God’s eternal love and unconditional acceptance. “It costs you everything because if it didn’t it wouldn’t mean anything.” (These quotes may not be verbatim, but it’s 1am and I’m doing my best here...and if you don't know who Donald Miller is, he's wrote Blue Like Jazz; required reading for the high-school youth group members and semi-cool-20-something Christian types)

And he’s right. Christianity is not about being cool. But it’s not about so many other things which have come to falsely constitute such a big part of religion. It’s not about listening to the right bands, or using the right words, or about memorizing so many scriptures, or even blog-debates of progressive vs. fundamental. It’s certainly not about being better than anyone else.

For me, these last few days at least, Christianity has focused on humility. My walk with the lord has become an incredibly humbling experience, as every night I lay in bed feeling broken and just letting God’s love and grace wash over me. Right now I’m learning how beautiful this story we are a part of is and why without Christ, life would quickly devolve into nothingness.

Where our ministry goes and how we apply our gifts into serving the lord are very relevant and challenging questions. Challenging because the options are limitless, at times overwhelming. Relevant because our ministry is the physical manifestation of our faith, the final step which we walk each day in showing others what our life is about.

While the above notions, such as ministry and service to God are of tremendous importance, I think we all have to perpetually return to the same place. The place I return to every night, as the early morning hours slowly pass by. It’s a place in my heart that words can not fully capture. The place where my own weakness and selfishness leaves me broken. The place where we recognize God’s grace and love, his eternal sovereignty behind each moment. The place where God was in the beginning, the place where he has always been. The place where God will be in the end. A place that costs everything but in the end, means infinitely even more.