the importance of being foolish (IV)

Chapter Four: Finding the Father

"Living in this place of supreme rest [the mind of Christ] is neither a dreamy abstraction nor an excuse for removing ourselves from the urgent needs of the world... Rather, this is a place of centering. In quiet listening, Christians start from where we are, discover what we have, and realize that we have already arrived. There is no need to pursue God, to beg for God to become known to us. Paul writes, 'Don't you know that you yourselves are God's temple and that God's Spirit lives in you?'"

"There is no need to run after security, pleasure, and power, as the unbelievers do. The kingdom of God is within us. All that is necessary is to slow down to a human tempo, and take time to listen. God has been there all the time."

"Here we stop worrying about what we don't have because we are taking the time to appreciate and enjoy what we do have. The greater percentage of the unnecessary, self-induced suffering in our lives is eliminated because the addictions that once pushed us toward achieving security, experiencing pleasure, and developing power no longer assert themselves with their absurd demands for instant satisfaction. Worry and anxiety no longer drive us, for we realize they are not borne of the gospel and carry no redemptive significance. They only prolong the times of darkness in our life and can be eliminated by submitting our thoughts to the Lordship of Jesus Christ."

"When the outside conditions of life no longer make for security or insecurity, when the trivial and inevitable problems of our daily routine have lost their power to splinter our concentration and fragment our existence, we perceive the world as a friendlier place. We experience everyone and everything around us in a different way--not in terms of how they meet our addictive needs but as singular manifestations of truth, goodness, and beauty in the world."

"The perception of God being enough is the hallmark of the transparent life. Gone are the tensions, hassles, and struggles that signal entrapment by our basest desires. The restless scanning of the horizon for new experiences ceases; the constant churning of the mind for escapes and distractions disappears."

"Our ability to put on the mind of Christ Jesus comes by virtue of our sacred union with him... The power to love God wholeheartedly is the birthright of those reborn in the Spirit of Jesus Christ. It is what allows us to move out into the world as crystalline bearers of God's image."