A thought by
Larry Osborne,
(2009-04-10) from his book, Spirituality for the Rest of Us: A Down-to-Earth Guide to Knowing God (p. 50). The Crown
Publishing Group. Kindle Edition. (Click on the title to go to Amazon.com to
buy the book)
Larry
asked some very good questions a little earlier in this chapter. He said, “What if God didn't want everyone to
be turned into a leader and a hill-charging spiritual warrior? Could he possibly
be pleased with simple folks who loved God, loved their family and friends,
then died without ever doing (or wanting to do) anything outstandingly
significant?”
He
then said, “The more I mulled this over, and the more closely I examined the
Bible, the more convinced I became that the answer was yes. Mediocrity was
actually an option—and for some, a God-pleasing option. It had to be. Because
if it's impossible to be below average and please God, we have a BIG problem on
our hands. Whatever we're measuring, and by whatever measure we use, half of us
will always be on the wrong side of the average line, by the very definition of
it.”
Then
right before this highlighted thought he said, “The key to knowing God on a
truly personal level and experiencing a genuine God-pleasing spirituality may
well begin with the vanquishing of all the old tapes and voices calling us to be
something we're not. Instead, we must learn to listen to the still small voice
of the Spirit as he calls and equips us to be a better us, rather than a poor imitation of someone else. For
those of us who are leader types, we can expect to find plenty of help for our
spiritual journey. We're the prized prospect, the kind of Christian most
churches and ministry organizations encourage and motivate best. We need to
keep at it; we're vital to the future of the church and God's kingdom. But we
also need to work hard not to project our personality and calling on everyone
else.” Then the thought, “The goal of
spirituality is not to lead—it's to know and please God.”
That
is the goal, isn’t it?
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