Organic flow:
“Lord, I know I should try to live each day in response to Your purposes.”
That is right. Not just to do it mechanically, like a soldier following orders, but to do it as an organic flow, wishing to be in touch with Me and to live in accord with My will, My love.
God: An Autobiography, As Told to a Philosopher – is the true story of a philosopher’s conversations with God. Dr. Jerry L. Martin, a lifelong agnostic. Dr. Martin served as head of the National Endowment for the Humanities and the University of Colorado philosophy department, is the founding chairman of the Theology Without Walls group at AAR, and editor of Theology Without Walls: The Transreligious Imperative. Dr. Martin’s work has prepared him to become a serious reporter of God’s narrative, experiences, evolution, and autobiography. In addition to scholarly publications, Dr. Martin has testified before Congress on educational policy. He has appeared on “World News Tonight,” and other television news programs.
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Listen to this on God: An Autobiography, The Podcast– the dramatic adaptation and continuing discussion of the book God: An Autobiography, As Told To A Philosopher by Jerry L. Martin.
He was a lifelong agnostic, but one day he had an occasion to pray. To his vast surprise, God answered- in words. Being a philosopher, he had a lot of questions, and God had a lot to tell him.
Jenny January 13, 2014
I was just talking to God about this very thing the other day. I was frustrated because I felt that I was not being obedient enough and I felt that the fault was His, because He wasn’t telling me exactly what to do, each time I needed to do something.
Jesus pointed out that if He did that, my response to Him would be robotic and He doesn’t want me mindlessly obeying Him as a machine would- He wants a close, continuous and trusting relationship- sort of like a dance, where I am so close to Him, that I can feel Him leading me in that direction and so I yield.
This requires trust, because I sometimes don’t know exactly where He is taking me, but it’s pleasurable to be that close to Him, to rely on Him in that organic, continuous way- when I can remain in that space! 🙂 I get better at it with practice.
On another note, I just wanted to say, even though I am not commenting as much, I am reading right along. My husband and I adopted a daughter about five months ago, and so my life has changed quite a bit, but I am appreciating each chapter as you share it.
Jerry L Martin January 14, 2014
Exactly! It is like dancing, yes, or like musicians improvising and playing off one another, or like actors in an improv theatre, where the director mainly just sets the scene. For the most part, it is a flow, with only gentle nudging. Like you, I sometimes get too eager to do what God wants and all worked up. When I pray about it, I get a response, sometimes in words, sometimes not, that seems to say, Relax, you’re doing just fine.