In a world full of delightfully descriptive four-letter words used to express and enhance a multitude of emotions and add color to declarations, I have a new favorite:
WITH
It's a little word, but it's in the process of changing my life.
Not under, over, from, or for. With.
I began reading Sky Jethani's book by that name at our pastor's recommendation. A book with a single word - and a preposition at that - as the title? Hmm. Okay, I'll bite.
I'm a highlighter and note-taker. When I read non-fiction, I don't want to borrow a friend's copy or a library copy, I want my own because I'm going to take my liberties. Although I've done some highlighting in my copy of With, I think Van Gogh would be disappointed. There's a whole lot of black and white and not a lot of color.
That's because there aren't many stand-alone sentences within these pages that pack a punch nor are the pages loaded with powerful one-liners - or even two or three-liners. It's the idea conveyed in the whole of the book that has me in its grip.
What if I lived my life WITH God?
Not under an imagined tyrannical Almighty Ruler.
Not over some uninterested Cosmic Watchmaker who set the world in motion and stepped back, no longer caring what happens, so I must take charge because someone certainly has to.
Not from an overindulgent parent who stands at my side waiting for me to say or do just the right thing so they can shower me with toys and travel and riches beyond my wildest dreams.
And most poignant for me - not a life lived in abject self-denial for Him.
What if I simply lived my life without fear of the unseen hand of a great oppressor, without a need to control my every circumstance, without a hunger to amass material goods, and without a feverish compulsion to do something big, really big, and make my life count?
What if I got up each morning and went about my day, doing what I know I need to do: shower, eat, work, have conversations, run errands, cook, go to meetings, walk my dog, etc. etc...but doing it all in conscious awareness that God is WITH me?
What if, in the middle of a really horrible day - a poster-child day for Murphy's Law - I would think, God is WITH me.
What if I blow it and turn back to something in my life that seems to control me - an addiction of attitude or action or behavior? Even there, God is WITH me. He's not standing over me, rod in hand. He hasn't stepped away from me until I clean up my act; and He's not demanding anything from me before forgiving me.
So, what if ....?
Well, it's changing my life, and I hope it continues to change it because I'm kind of liking it.
Give it a try.
(If you'd like to read With, click here to buy it on Amazon)
WITH
It's a little word, but it's in the process of changing my life.
Not under, over, from, or for. With.
I began reading Sky Jethani's book by that name at our pastor's recommendation. A book with a single word - and a preposition at that - as the title? Hmm. Okay, I'll bite.
I'm a highlighter and note-taker. When I read non-fiction, I don't want to borrow a friend's copy or a library copy, I want my own because I'm going to take my liberties. Although I've done some highlighting in my copy of With, I think Van Gogh would be disappointed. There's a whole lot of black and white and not a lot of color.
That's because there aren't many stand-alone sentences within these pages that pack a punch nor are the pages loaded with powerful one-liners - or even two or three-liners. It's the idea conveyed in the whole of the book that has me in its grip.
What if I lived my life WITH God?
Not under an imagined tyrannical Almighty Ruler.
Not over some uninterested Cosmic Watchmaker who set the world in motion and stepped back, no longer caring what happens, so I must take charge because someone certainly has to.
Not from an overindulgent parent who stands at my side waiting for me to say or do just the right thing so they can shower me with toys and travel and riches beyond my wildest dreams.
And most poignant for me - not a life lived in abject self-denial for Him.
What if I simply lived my life without fear of the unseen hand of a great oppressor, without a need to control my every circumstance, without a hunger to amass material goods, and without a feverish compulsion to do something big, really big, and make my life count?
What if I got up each morning and went about my day, doing what I know I need to do: shower, eat, work, have conversations, run errands, cook, go to meetings, walk my dog, etc. etc...but doing it all in conscious awareness that God is WITH me?
What if, in the middle of a really horrible day - a poster-child day for Murphy's Law - I would think, God is WITH me.
What if I blow it and turn back to something in my life that seems to control me - an addiction of attitude or action or behavior? Even there, God is WITH me. He's not standing over me, rod in hand. He hasn't stepped away from me until I clean up my act; and He's not demanding anything from me before forgiving me.
So, what if ....?
Well, it's changing my life, and I hope it continues to change it because I'm kind of liking it.
Give it a try.
(If you'd like to read With, click here to buy it on Amazon)
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