There’s a website I found recently, “Show them Jesus” that got my attention. http://jackklumpenhower.com/ The author of this book makes the case that people can only learn the Bible, and begin to live in the way God calls us to, by knowing Jesus. And he says start with children.
My church, Holy Cross Lutheran, is a good place, an intentional place.
Our theme for the summer is “Light of Christ, Fire of Love”. So we’re reading books together – “A Wrinkle in Time” by Madeleine L’Engle is my recommended book, but truly, just read! Reading is how we upload software into ourselves!
I’ve been reading a book that was recommended to me which shall be nameless. In this book, the author talks about feelings and spiritual crises, and to be honest, it all feels so heavy handed I want to scream. Show, don’t tell, I say internally. If I am to learn to be more loving, you’re going to have to give me story. Story – with its deep flights into the world of a narrative – allows me to see Jesus, to encounter the story of a loving God who gives His Son, through the eyes of the key players we encounter.
Story. Years ago I learned how to surface dive in a swim class. We would lay on top of the water, paddling gently with our hands in a gentle arc around our bodies, and then, we would go perpendicular, and point our hands over our heads and ‘head to the bottom’. Reading is like this. When we are immersed in a story, we go deep, and imagine the secrets of this existence.
Go deep this summer won’t you? In church at Holy Cross we will go deep – first into the Ten Commandments (until the end of June). Then in July we will cover 1 John, and in August – Ruth. The stories will fill us and we will see Jesus. Amen.
– Pastor Patricia+