Why We Run
Theme of the Week: God's Lavish Love
Sunday, December 23, 2007
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Who Said It…Erwin McManus
Born in El Salvador, Erwin Raphael McManus is lead pastor and "cultural architect" of Mosaic, a Los Angeles congregation that meets in unusual places such as The Mayan Nightclub and Beverly Hills High School. Why is it called Mosaic? To symbolize the brokenness of fragmented humanity and to reflect the ethnic diversity of its members. Erwin and Kim (his wife of Korean-American heritage) have two children, Aaron and Mariah, and a foster daughter, Paty.
What He Said…Why We Run
All of us find ourselves uncertain when it comes to love. Conditional love always leaves us wanting, but at least we have some control over the situation.
We're disoriented by God's unconditional love. We want God to love us for an endless number of good reasons. But we find ourselves nervous before Him because He sees right through us and knows everything that isn't loveable. He tells us that He's our place of rest and acceptance and unconditional love, yet we know who we are. That's what worries us—we know we're not worthy of such love.
So we run, because we're certain that the closer we come to Him, the more guilt and shame we'll feel. It's just too hard to believe that if you come near to God, you'll find yourself not drowning in condemnation, but swimming in compassion. We run from God because we've convinced ourselves that the One who's most loving couldn't and wouldn't embrace us. We run from the One our souls crave.
Adapted from Soul Cravings (Nelson, 2006) by permission.
Copyright © 2007 by the author or Christianity Today International/Men of Integrity magazine.Click here for reprint information on Men of Integrity. 1 of 1
Lord, this week enlarge my comprehension of, and appreciation for, Your self-giving love.
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