Echoes and Stars

Following is a little dose of quotes and sections readers have highlighted on their Kindle.

1. We are not saved from mediocrity and obscurity, the ordinary and the mundane. We are saved in the midst of it. We are not redeemed from the mundane. We are redeemed from the slavery of thinking our mundane life is not enough.

2. We think the small, mundane, ordinary things we do each and every day are worth nothing before God because they are worth nothing before the gods of this world.

3. But I say, be nobody special. Do your job. Take care of your family. Clean your house. Mow your yard. Read your Bible. Attend worship. Pray. Watch your life and doctrine closely. Love your spouse. Love your kids. Be generous. Laugh with your friends. Drink your wine heartily. Eat your meat lustily. Be honest. Be kind to your waitress. Expect no special treatment. And do it all quietly.

4. …are you willing to be numbered among the nameless believers in history who lived in obscurity?

5. In other words, we want to end war, hunger and poverty in our lifetime. But we do not posses the will to let someone merge in front of us in traffic, and do so with a smile.

6. This little book is not a call to do nothing. It is a call to be faithful right where you are, regardless of how mundane that place is.

7. Living quietly is a life so happy with the attention of God, that the attention of the world is not needed, and rarely enjoyed.

8. I missed the obvious: the Apostles are writing to normal people.

9. It is true Paul says to his readers, “imitate me…”[1] And he says it more than once. In each instance, Paul wants his readers to see that he is an example of what he is asking of them in that particular context. His life is consistent with what he is teaching. He isn’t out of step. But he never asks them to stop being who they are. He never challenges them to go anywhere. We don’t even get hints that lead us to believe he is making them feel guilty for living in comparative comfort compared to his lack of it. That’s weird. And it’s weird because this is so common in our pulpits and in conferences held for zealous college students.

10. I want to believe my faith in the gospel of grace is not limited to the “spiritual” things but is exploding onto every single mundane moment in my life. I want the shrapnel of this explosion to embed itself in every enjoyment, and failure, and celebration, and tragedy coming my way.