Exponents and Blue Like Jazz

I throw up mathematics flashcards while the students are lined up and waiting for their teachers to pick them up from recess.  Yesterday I showed the number 3 to the 4th power - kid almost immediately yelled out, "81."  I was impressed, assumed he was bright, and moved onto the next flash card.  Later, as the students were filing into the building to resume their instructional day, I heard a girl say, "3 squared is 9, and 9 times 9 is 81."

BOOM!  

If you are like me, you would calculate 3 to the 4th power by multiplying 3 and 3 (which is 9) and then multiply 9 and 3 (which is 27) and then multiply 27 and 3 (which is 81).  Most of our brains function by this logical progression of mathematical calculation.  The realization that another individual would discover (so casually) a process to solve this problem more efficiently left me speechless and perplexed.  I had never looked at an exponential math problem in the way that this 12 year old girl not only understood, but was able to explain to her friend - and I was a high school mathematics teacher.

Like most of us, I was fired up about this Christianity thing when I first heard the "good news" (1997) - I diligently read my bible, memorized scripture, prayed, shared the gospel, participated in accountability groups, tithed, fasted - you name it.  I was also very diligent about not doing things that a "good christian" wouldn't do - drink, smoke, cuss, etc.  I would say to myself and others, "my relationship with Christ is not based on emotion, but based on devotion to Him."

Unfortunately, like most fads, exercise regimens, and diets, my spiritual "high" faded and I reverted back to laziness and apathy to sin.

Two summers ago, I read a book by Donald Miller called Blue Like Jazz.  Chapter 7 is titled "Grace - The Beggar's Kingdom."

The conclusion of the chapter reads:  "Our 'behavior' will not be changed long with self-discipline, but fall in love and a human will accomplish what he never thought possible.  The laziest of men will swim the English channel to win his woman. . . by accepting God's love for us, we fall in love with Him, and only then do we have the fuel we need to obey.  In exchange for our humility and willingness to accept the charity of God, we are given a kingdom.  And a beggar's kingdom is better than a proud man's delusion."

BOOM!


This was the answer to a 10 year spiritual drought.  I had never looked at my relationship with God this way.  I always thought following Christ was a daily checklist of spiritual disciplines; the more I checked off, the more God was pleased with me, and consequently, the more "holy" I was.

But as Donald Miller so eloquently illustrates in Blue Like Jazz, a relationship with Christ has more to do with falling in love with Him than following a carefully calculated formula for spiritual success.

So I pose the following questions for you:

1.) If your spiritual life is non-existent or stale, is it because you have not been able to maintain "good behavior" with self-discipline?

2.) If you perceive your relationship with God to be going well, is it because you have a lot of checks on your own personally formulated check-list?  Or is it because you have fallen in love with the One who has saved you?


When was the last time you saw life in a different way?  This is called grace.