I’ve been re-reading Searching For God Knows What by Donald Miller. At times, I feel as if Don and I were twins who were separated at birth. Others must feel the same connection to his ideas, stories, and fresh take on Christian spirituallity since his books are widely popular now in certain circles. If you haven”t read the book I mentioned above (and Blue Like Jazz) treat yourself to something that may challenge you, inspire you, and make you laugh (or cry) all at the same time. I don’t think you’ll be disappointed. Anyway, as I’m re-reading this book, I’m struck again by an obvious but often missed aspect of Christian spirituality.

That is, the astounding relational quality that characterizes the Christian life.  God wants us to know Him and to be known by Him. This adventure of faith we’re called to take part in isn’t processed in an assembly line. It’s dynamic, organic, one-of-a-kind stuff that will manifest itself in an intimate and unique way for each person. We want the formula and the procedural steps. What are the guidelines and parameters?  But there aren’t equations or recipes for falling in love with a person or a Being. I think Donald says this much better. Here’s an excerpt:

Jesus was always, and I mean always about love, about people, about relationship, and He never once broke anything into steps or formulas. What if, because we were constantly trying to dissect His message, we were missing a blatant invitation? I began to wonder if becoming a Christian did not work more like falling in love than agreeing with a list of true principles. I had met a lot of people who agreed with all those true principles, and they were jerks, and a lot of other people who believed in those principles, but who also claimed to love Jesus, who were not jerks. It seems like something else has to take place in the heart of somebody to become a believer, for somebody to understand the gospel of Jesus. It began to seem like more than just a cerebral exercise. What if the gospel of Jesus was an invitation to know God?

Now I have to tell you, all of this frightened me a bit because I always assumed a kind of anonymity with God. When I saw myself in heaven, I didn’t imagine sitting at the right hand of God, as the Scripture says, but I pictured myself off behind some mountain range doing some fishing and writing a good detective novel. But if the gospel of Jesus is relational; that is, if our brokenness will be fixed, not by our understanding of theology, but by God telling us who we are, then this would require a kind of intimacy which only heaven knows. Imagine, a Being with a mind as great as God’s, with feet like trees and a voice like a rushing wind, telling you that you are His cherished creation. It’s kind of exciting if you think about it. Earthly love, I mean the stuff I was trying to get by sounding smart, is temporal and slight so that it has to be given again and again in order for us to feel any sense of security; but God’s love, God’s voice and presence, would instill our souls with such affirmation we would need nothing more and would cause us to love other people so much we would be willing to die for them. Perhaps this is what the disciples stumbled upon.

I like the part where he says our brokenness will be fixed by "God telling us who we are?" Is God telling you who you are?  What a concept!  Right now I feel like He is telling me who I am not, and I look forward to learning who I truly am–moving more and more towards His glory. I want to be defined by Him. What an amazing God of love we serve.