Snippet: What will you do with Jesus? (Thrill Series)

Snip·pet | ˈsnipit | noun a small piece or brief extract.

Another snippet from The Thrill of Orthodoxy: Rediscovering the Adventure of Christian Faith by Trevin Wax.

"…line-drawing over religious convictions strikes many as counterproductive. Shouldn't the impulse of Christianity lead us to greater inclusiveness? Shouldn't we be in the business of erasing lines and tearing down walls? That would be the case if religion were little more than individual spirituality or a personal preference, like choosing one flavor of ice cream over another.

"…But the New Testament doesn't portray the gospel in terms of personal preference. The gospel is about events—world-shattering, historical happenings that require a reckoning and lead to the point of decision: What will we do with Jesus?"

When it’s turned into something that’s about personal preference, it’s simply not Christianity. It’s something else.

It’s hard to say that in a way that will be heard by someone who’s moving away from a biblical and orthodox faith.

Maybe the best way to say it is to ask that question: What will you do with Jesus?

After all, as Wax writes: “Christianity isn’t just giving mental assent to a set of propositions. It’s giving yourself to a Person.”

Photo by Jehyun Sung on Unsplash

Snippet: "You're boring." (Thrill Series)

Snip·pet | ˈsnipit | noun a small piece or brief extract.

I’m cheating today and slipping in a snippet from another book into this series on Trevin Wax’s The Thrill of Orthodoxy’s book. It’s from Liturgy of the Ordinary: Sacred Practices in Everyday Life by Tish Harrison Warren (Lois shared this with me).

“Once a student met with [a professor] to complain about having to read Augustine’s Confessions. ‘It’s boring,’ the student whined. ‘No, it’s not boring,’ the professor responded. ‘You’re boring.’

“…Our worship together as a church forms us in a particular way. We must be shaped into people who value that which gives life, not just what’s trendy or loud or exciting.”

“…Our addiction to stimulation, input, and entertainment empties us out and makes us boring—unable to embrace the ordinary wonders of life in Christ.

“…much of the Christan life is returning over and over to the same work and the same habits of worship. We must contend with the same spiritual struggles again and again. The work of repentance and faith is daily and repetitive. Again and again we repent and believe.”

Can we try to be at least a little less boring?

Maybe put down our phones and pick up a challenging read?

Or turn off the radio and think about something while driving to work, school, or the store?

Or talk to someone close by, asking questions about their lives and passions?

Photo by Debashis RC Biswas on Unsplash.