Lent: Day Twenty-Two

Questions do not equal heresy

I recently finished a book by Donald Miller called "Searching for God Knows What." Though I liked his memoir "Blue Like Jazz" a bit more, I still find myself thinking about what he had to say.

Miller has this amazing ability to step outside of traditional Christian belief and look at his religion from a different angle. He asks questions. He doesn't shy away from messy issues. He pushes the limits much further than many others would be willing to go.

And yet he always comes back from his ventures loving God -- and man -- more than he did before. I see this as a good thing.

It shows me that we can, in fact, ask questions of our faith, of our God, of our fellow believers, and of ourselves. Questions. Do Not. Destroy.

It shows me that while keeping yourself firmly rooted in the foundational beliefs that Jesus died to save you from your sins, and that you should love Him with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength, it is okay to say you don't know it all. It is okay to consider open theology, and to read books the greater Christian community rails against (The Shack, anyone? Velvet Elvis? The Da Vinci Code? Harry Potter?).

What I can't stand is when the Christian community becomes so entrenched in its theology, when it holds so tightly to what it is convinced is the only way to think, that it can't see past its nose.

We, as Christians, NEED to see past our noses. We need to see past our noses, first of all, to love each other as fellow believers. So what if your Christian brother read a certain book. So what if that girl is asking too many questions. You do not get in their face -- or behind their back, or on the pulpit -- and call them a heretic. If we cannot love each other, what do we have to offer those in the world who do not believe as we do, and who need us to get over ourselves and enter into their messy lives?

Nothing. Without love there is nothing. It says so in the Bible (I Corinthians 13).

And...I better stop. This is a post I didn't intend on writing. But, it came out. It came out very fast and furious, and I suppose it's been simmering inside for quite some time now. And yes, it's personal. I'm still working on forgiving (often) and loving (because God loves me, who can be quite unlovable).

I am not exempt from anything I've written. It is human nature, I think, to hold tightly to our beliefs. Sometimes, when relationships crumble and people fail you, that is the only thing you can hold on to. But I think we must remember we are not clinging to an idea; we are clinging to the God who created the universe, who is, and was, and is to come.