New Way to be Human

"Yet we struggle to believe that God intends for us to be truly human. We think we must get dressed up in our Sunday best to talk with God. We're afraid that being made of flesh and blood meets with divine disapproval. The fact that we love to laugh, take a walk with a friend, sip tea and read a good book for the sheer pleasure of it is probably regarded from on high, we fear, with a cosmic frown. We forget that it was God's idea, not ours, to make us human...There is also confusion about what it means to be spiritual. We feel it is more spiritual to take our seeker friends to a Bible discussion or to church than to a play or out for pizza...[God] made us human. He is therefore interested in every aspect of our humanness. It is the stuff of our humanity - the everyday grit and glory that we all encounter simply by walking out the door each morning - that God uses to shape a holy life within us. We dare not limit him, then, to Bible studies and discussions with Christians. He created life, and he desires to be glorified in the totality of all that adds up to life. And his power and presence will come crashing through to the world as we let him live fully in every aspect of our lives." (Pippert, 1999, pp. 30-31)

I thought I would share a little bit of inspiration with you. This is open for comments, aggreable or disagreeable. I acquired this quote from a textbook that I am reading for college. In my own opinion I think that the author has nailed it. The author explains that in embracing humanity she is not condoning sin, however within the context of evangelism and spirituality we simply have trouble being who we are. God is not a God whom you can impress. He sees past the facades. He knows our heart each and every moment. Too often I have come to the table consciously or unconsciously trying to please God with my spirituality. It's a futility in religion and failure in a relationship. While I am not abandoning the issue of outward appearance, I do recognize that God has his eyes on my heart. In the past I have given God the first and "foremost" (but very groggy) minutes of my morning believing he was smiling on my effort to put him "first" in my day. While I will not condone selfishness or nurturing our relationship with God whenever we please, I do believe that we must love God with all our heart, soul, mind and strength, and that we - as the children of the Father - must learn to be comfortable with being ourselves. Anything more than this is acting.


Pippert, R. M. (1999) Out of the Saltshaker & into the World. Downers Grove, IL: IVP