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November 16, 2006
finished...
so, i finished the road less traveled this morning. it was amazing. even in these past few days, some of the things the author said helped me to look at situations in my life a lot differently.
one thing that was a great point was the idea that problems in your life (whether in your attitude, circumstances, etc) can actually be manifestations of grace. we often view grace as the RELIEF from such irritations and inconveniences. however, the author--m. scott peck, argues that these troubles are grace in that their appearance in our lives are 1) usually an indication of some kind of soul problem 2) give us the opportunity to change/grow by making us aware of the problem.
that took me back to the thoughts that i've had about pain for a long time. while i was still in high school, i read a book by philip yancey and dr. paul brandt called fearfully and wonderfully made. this book was based on dr. brandt's experiences working with sufferers of leprosy (i'm sure i've blogged on and/or talked most people's ears off about this already, so i'll make it brief). dr. brandt, more than most people, sees pain as a gift, a manifestation of grace, because it lets us know when we're hurting ourselves. people afflicted with leprosy cannot feel pain (due to nerve problems) and subsequently do great damage to their bodies without knowing it (thus the loss of fingers, arms, legs, etc).
anyway, so if trials/hardships/bad attitudes/etc are manifestations of grace, then why are we so resistant to it? m. scott offers that idea that it is simply because of laziness. for him, laziness=unlove. to accept grace is to assert a will to grow, to change, to enter uncharted territory. while an immensely joy-filled journey, the journey of grace is the most difficult journey a person can attempt to trek.
he says, " The call to grace is a call to a life of effortful caring, to a life of service and whatever sacrifice seems required. It is a call out of spiritual childhood into adulthood..." (p. 301).
please don't be confused, he isn't saying that grace is something you work towards. he spends a whole chapter exploring the paradox. that while you can, in effort, prepare yourself for the arrival of grace, inevitably it will find you.
he relates grace to the idea of seredipity (pleeease do not think about the chick flick, focus with me people). he defines seredipity as "...the learned capacity to recognize and utliize the gifts of grace which are given to us from beyond the realm of our conscious will" (p. 309).
part of the pain of grace is God nurturing us to be prepared for greater communion with Him and greater desire and awareness to know Him. of course He has to work us through the painful process of discipline so as to eliminate the laziness and fear that so often controls us. but He is ever-present on the journey.
m. scott defines love as the extending of one's self for the spiritual growth of another. well, isn't that what God has done for us?
a few last thoughts (sorry to spoil the ending of the book for you...)...
"The existence of grace is prima facie evidence not of the reality of God but also of the reality that God's will is devoted to the growth of the individual human spirit. What once seemed to be a fairy tale has turns out to be reality. We live our lives in the eye of God, and not at the periphery of his vision, but at the center of His vision, His concern. It is probable that the universe as we know it is but a single stepping-stone toward entrance to the Kingdom of God. But we are hardly lost in the universe. To the contrary, the reality of grace indicates that humanity is to be at the center of the universe...Through grace we are helped not to stumble and through grace we know we are being welcomed [into the Kingdom of God]. What more can we ask?" (p. 311).
well, i don't know if this was a coherent post or not, or if you'll agree with him or me, but now it's out there...i'm still processing, as i'm sure most of us are.
here's to putting one foot in front of the other on this journey...
Posted by Autumn at November 16, 2006 11:22 AM