Grace and the Beatitudes

When I was a young human I read Prayer and the Art of Volkswagen Maintenance by Donald Miller–this book has since been reworked and re-released as Through Painted Deserts. In this book, he recounts his roadtrip from Texas to Oregon with his close friend in a Volkswagen van; this book is the inspiration for my rim to rim hike of the Grand Canyon with my close friend Devin Tschirley.

Several years later I picked up his book Blue Like Jazz: Nonreligious Thoughts on Christian Spirituality. In this book one chapter really jumped out at me; it was the chapter on grace. He recounts a time when he saw a woman in a grocery store using food stamps…

It was obvious as she unfolded the currency that she, I, and the checkout girl were quite uncomfortable with the interaction. I wished there was something I could do. I wished I could pay for her groceries myself, but to do so would have been to cause a greater scene…

…I realized that it was not the woman who should be pitied, it was me. Somehow I had come to believe that because a person is in need, they are candidates for sympathy, not just charity. It was not that I wanted to buy her groceries, the government was already doing that. I wanted to buy her dignity. And yet, by judging her, I was the one taking her dignity away.

Not only do I lose sight of what grace really is, sometimes I forget that I need grace just as much as anyone else. Miller goes on to say…

I love to give charity, but I don’t want to be charity. This is why I have so much trouble with grace…

…It isn’t that I want to earn my own way to give something to God, it’s that I want to earn my own way so I won’t be charity.

This is humbling; not only to Miller, but also for me. I want to be worthy in God’s eyes, yet the only way is if I receive God’s full grace.

It is no coincidence that a kid in my class asked me to write a college letter of recommendation for her. As she told me her story, she told me about being a Big Sister for a little girl. I was blessed by her willingness to love this little girl. This story reminded me about what God says we should value. This is at the heart of what Jesus said as he started his Sermon on the Mount:

3 Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven.
4 Blessed are they that mourn, for they shall be comforted
5 Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.
6 Blessed are they that hunger and thirst after righteousness, for they shall be filled.
7 Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy.
8 Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.

Matthew 5:3-8

When we are in a situation where we need grace–we need someone to stand in and fight for us, that is when we understand the true blessing of God.

14 The LORD will fight for you; you need only to be still.

Exodus 14:14

I pray that I can be still; that I can take God’s charity–his grace.

My Box is Better than Your Box

Hmm, does this sound like me?

You Are An INTP

The Thinker You are analytical and logical – and on a quest to learn everything you can. Smart and complex, you always love a new intellectual challenge. Your biggest pet peeve is people who slow you down with trivial chit chat. A quiet maverick, you tend to ignore rules and authority whenever you feel like it. In love, you are an easy person to fall for. But not an easy person to stay in love with. Although you are quite flexible, you often come off as aloof or argumentative. At work, you are both a logical and creative thinker. You are great at solving problems. You would make an excellent mathematician, programmer, or professor. How you see yourself: Creative, fair, and tough-minded When other people don’t get you, they see you as: arrogant, cold, and robotic

What’s Your Personality Type?

Sometimes Logic is…

a fancy way of being a pain in the ass.  See illustration:Babies come from girls: babies=evil:(  Hmm it breaks down all over the place.