Accepting God's Pace - "One Millimeter per Month"

In reference once again to Dr. Curt Thompson and his study of the human brain and our walk with God, I am quoting a portion from a recent article of his which can be found at  http://www.beingknown.com/2011/11/one-millimeter-per-month/:

"When I was in medical school, we learned that if a nerve is severed, it can begin to regenerate, but only at the rate of about 1 millimeter per month, depending on how serious and extensive the injury is. Some injuries can repair more quickly, up to 1 millimeter per day...Imagine how long it will take for a damaged nerve in a hand to return to health. Or worse, what about someone who has a stroke and has thousands of nerves killed or traumatized in a matter of minutes? Even more complicated, what about the neurological implications of relationships that have been traumatized in innumerable ways that seem beyond repair? What has any of this to do with God’s pace?

"What the story of the brain and nervous system seems to reveal is that God is very serious about the change he is bringing about in this world. And his seriousness translates not only into large, sweeping sea changes (think, the work of William Wilberforce or Martin Luther King, Jr.), but perhaps more often in the most microscopic, detailed spaces such as a single moment of restraint when disciplining a child; confessing a wrong done rather than sweeping it under the rug; or beginning a practice of regular, rhythmic fasting, solitude, or journaling in order to open up channels for God’s spirit to have access to you. None of these latter things listed would seem in and of themselves to change the world. No journalist will cover these events for the Washington Post. But if neurons only grow at the pace mentioned above, it will take lots of practice, and lots of time to coax them to create new networks. If God has made me with neurons, then I can’t change any faster than they can. It will take time and practice for my hoarding and gluttony and consumerism and lust and anxiety and impatience to be transformed. It is less a surprise to find that patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, and gentleness are growing, if surely, then only slowly.

"Now, if I begin to pay attention to this reality, this awareness of God’s comfort with his own pace, perhaps I need not worry so much that I’m not changing quickly enough—more importantly, that others are not changing quickly enough either. And the odd thing is, when I am less worried, I am more likely to be open to the changes I so long for in the first place, especially if I am closely connected with others whose pilgrimages are moving in the same direction."

Accepting Ambiguity in Prayer

This week just a short quote from Greg Boyd on ambiguity:

“We pray as we live: in a sea of ambiguity. This is not because we are fallen but because we are finite. And we are inclined to forget we are finite. We ignore the ambiguity that accompanies our finitude, and thus we claim to know what we can’t know. We reduce the unfathomable complexity of the cosmos to the capacity of our finite minds. When we do this, we invariably end up blaming God or indicting victims. We align ourselves with Job’s ignorant and arrogant friends, with whom God was very angry (Job 42:7).

“We pray best, live best and counsel best when we keep our eyes fixed on the God we know in Jesus Christ, remembering the sea of ambiguity that surrounds every square inch of this precious knowledge.”

Sense of Security: Based on Trust or Certainty?

Following up on the idea I presented last week about the human brain being designed for trust rather than for absolute certainty (http://nitasbookclub.blogspot.com/2013/03/boxing-god-in-until-he-disappears.html), I want to share from one of last year's posts in which I quoted George MacDonald (the man C.S.Lewis gave credit for most influencing him):

"To know God is to be in the secret place of all knowledge; and to trust him changes the whole outlook surrounding mystery and seeming contradictions and unanswered questions from one of doubt or fear or bewilderment to one of hope. The unknown may be some lovely truth in store for us, which we are not yet ready to apprehend. Not to be intellectually certain of a truth does not prevent the heart that loves and obeys that truth from getting the goodness out of it, from drawing life from it because it is loved, not because it is understood."  (from MacDonald's book, "The Lady's Confession")

"Doubts are the messengers of the Living One to rouse the honest heart. They are the first knock at our door of things that are not yet, but have to be, understood...Doubts must precede every deeper assurance. For uncertainties are what we first see when we look into a region hitherto unknown, unexplored, unannexed."   (from the book, "Discovering the Character of God")

A loved child is curious, full of honest questions and has no fear of punishment from the parent; as a consequence he/she grows in understanding. As followers of Jesus, many of us (particularly in the evangelical/charismatic tradition) have been trained by our "christian culture" that we should be absolutely certain about many different doctrines, and in our adherence to doctrinal certainty, we lose childlike curiosity and cease to grow in dynamic understanding of God. We cling to certainty for our sense of security, rather than to trust in the Person of God in Christ Jesus.

There are many "regions hitherto unknown, unexplored, unannexed" that we can venture into without fear when hand in hand with our Father. May the Spirit of Jesus reveal the love of the Father to us in such a way that we dare to trust Him and never stop asking questions and never stop growing!

Boxing God In Until He Disappears...

One thing that is becoming clearer to me as I have been daring to venture out of the box of evangelical certainty is that God is trustworthy and He is all love. This is liberating because it means that it's safe in Him to ask questions and to doubt things that I've been taught - He is not threatened by my questions and even welcomes them; I don't need to fear His reaction if I doubt some of the many tight doctrines that I was raised with; I can trust that He will never abandon me and will lovingly lead me as I lean on Him.

Dr. Curt Thompson, a follower of Jesus who is a psychiatrist, has studied the human brain and writes fascinating material about the integration of the disciplines of psychiatry and Christian spirituality. He writes the following about how our brains are actually designed for trust, not for absolute certainty:

"Not certain about God?...You mean we can’t know that we know that we know…for certain? Well…no, you can’t. Your brain won’t let you.  Imagine what it is like to have a mind that not only can’t be certain, but was intentionally created not to be.  Rather, it was created to trust.  Confidence, yes.  Certainty? Certainly not. 

Our full-bodied minds were created for movement. At times so subtle that we barely notice it, at times rapid and furious.  But movement is the ground (though sometimes perceived as shifting, as it were) on which trust is constructed...And without trust—or perhaps in other words, with absolute certainty—we die.  Did you know that your eye is constantly moving, even within nanometers, in order to more clearly perceive an object?  Some researchers wonder that if the eye were literally perfectly still, the object would become blurred or perhaps even disappear.  Cool, huh?  But also a bit frightening.  It is when we attempt to get God to be perfectly motionless, to perfectly fit the mold we construct for him within which to fit, that he tends to eventually disappear.

In those moments when you fear that you have lost your certainty, and then, perhaps your sanity, or even your god, know that you are now ready to enter relationship with the God, not of certainty, but of Movement, the God of Trust, the God of Justice."

In light of this, I am very thankful for parents who modeled for their children the willingness to keep changing and growing in their understanding of God. They were ever moving with what He was showing them of His character and His ways. This empowered and continues to empower me to do the same, and I'm loving the discoveries of Him that continue to come as a result of this!

For those who may want to read the entire article by Curt Thompson, you can find it here:
http://www.beingknown.com/2010/12/certainty-is-an-illusion/