In the blanks below, write the two most significant statements in today’s reading assignment. Be prepared to discuss why the statements you chose were significant to you.
“…lovers are extravagant! They cannot get enough of each other’s time. Thoughts of the loved one return to their minds often throughout the day and even invade their dreams at night. – a good goal.
“God-loving examples to the next generation are people who cannot get enough time with God. They can miss the evening newscast… but they cannot miss their time with God. – also a good goal.”
Describe the last time you gave extravagant attention to God. Include what you did during that time and what the results in your own life were.
“I’m not sure if I really ever have.”
Describe a time when you were so overwhelmed at something God showed you from his word that you had to stop to praise Him for what you had seen.
“I love Beth Moore’s point about the rocks crying out, but I don’t know that I’ve ever been so overwhelmed by any such discovery on my own.”
Have you ever been accused of ‘overdoing it’ in your service for God by those who didn’t understand the passion for God that motivated your service? If so, describe the circumstances surrounding that accusation.
“Mom and Dad were concerned about how much time I was spending on my BSF homework and various church activities. One of them said I had become a religious zealot. It hurt, but I try to focus on the root of the word – I want to have zeal for the Lord and be zealous.”
Dearest Rachel –
Besides the obvious reasons, your first answer makes me wish you were still here, so I could ask you for more context on some of your responses. When you quote the passage about the extravagance of lovers, and the fact that you see it as “a good goal” to be like that, are you referring specifically to God, or more generally toward the loves of your life?
Knowing you, if I had asked you in life, you’d probably touch my shoulder reassuringly and tell me that it could be both, for my sake, but I would expect that, given the circumstances, being extravagant with your time for God would be the one you needed to actually work on, since I would have been there for you to attend to already. It’s easier to spend time and dwell upon someone who is visibly, audibly and tactilely present; to devote attention to One who can’t be seen, heard or touched requires that much more effort and practice. Which is why you basically reiterate the “good goal” comment with your second quote, as the first could be applied to another (like myself, though you don’t spell that out).
As for your brief comments regarding never personally giving God an “extravagant” amount of time or being overwhelmed by an insight within scripture, that may be just a matter of perspective. With the latter, it sometimes helps to have a separate set of eyes looking at it, and giving you an idea about a passage’s meaning that you hadn’t considered. I’m not sure about the context of this comment, although I’ve gone through so many of your studies that I’ve probably seen this one somewhere along the line. My best guess is that it has to do with the inevitability of Jesus being praised, but it could have to do with certain natural effects around Jerusalem that would cause it (such as the fault line that will one day split the Mount of Olives when He returns – which could certainly be considered to be “the rocks crying out”).
Likewise, the fact that your parents seemed to think that you spent too much time on God and the study of His word just goes to show that gulf of perspective. You didn’t think you ever spent an extravagant amount of time with Him; by contrast, they thought you were constantly wasting that kind of time on Him. When you say those accusations hurt, I think it was more for them than yourself; you realized just how casual and shallow their faith was… and that it might not be faith at all. You don’t mention it here, but it was at that point you were resolved to find out whether they truly believed, or were just attending church on Sunday because it was the cultural thing to do, like any other social club they were part of.
In that respect, I’m sure your parents aren’t alone. You remember the Promise Keepers movement back in the nineties – it was the backdrop of our one major fight, after all. The premise behind it was that guys, in particular, would spend hours, and huge amounts of money, on a regular basis, honoring a sports team that didn’t really care about them; how much more should they be willing to fill up an arena to honor a God that does care about them, and wants them to be better men?
From a certain perspective, most people would consider attending one of these to be an extravagant amount of time and effort, while at the same time think nothing of a trip to Wrigley or Soldier Field to watch the Cubs or Bears. You and I, by contrast, would barely consider that giving Him His due. I’d agree with you that we don’t get extravagant with our time, but compared to others – not that that works, when talking about our relationship with God, any more than it does when considering our efforts to make ourselves ‘good enough’ to stand in His presence – it might be considered as such and then some.
It’s why you tried to take some comfort from your parents’ accusatory assessment. There was an old saying a few decades back that I saw on a poster: “If being a Christian was a crime, would there be enough evidence to convict you?” I wonder that about myself at times, and you were concerned about your folks for that very reason, but from their very reaction, that wasn’t a problem for you, personally.
But I still need to work on that, myself, so keep an eye on me, and wish me well, as I’ll continue to need it.
Letters to Rachel 