Kernels of Wisdom from Ken Wytsma in The Grand Paradox

In Wytsma’s chapter on “Personal Calling and Mission,” he pushes back against the strain of Christian teaching that in seeking “God’s will for my life” is actually saying, “life is all about me.” He goes on to explain how our view of God’s will for me and focus on self can lead to a lot of difficulties with simple, basic faithful living. Everything has to be some sort of dramatic call in which we are the starring character of the story. Moving forward in simple faithfulness to God might not mean a big dramatic story in which we believe we can pinpoint the exact calling for our life. That’s the paradox in this truth. In fact, Wytsma argues, “personal calling and mission are often best understood looking backward, rather than peering into the future.” He says:

God’s will in my life may not be so much about what college I attend or a “mission impossible”-type message delivered to me about how I’m going to save the world before it self-destructs. Rather, it can often be more about how I live my life than the specifics of what I do.

I identify with Wytsma’s themes about the will of God and have written previously about that “having a peace about it is a terrible reason to make a decision.” Certainly, obsession with getting an exact bead on the will of God is rather a “first world problem.” In other countries, oftentimes one is a Christian in the midst of great suffering and trial and simply seeks to live faithfully for God right there. Our position of privilege and wealth as American Christians is more of an exception than a rule in terms of what believers have historically expected of the life of faith.

The insight about coming to see God’s will in retrospect rings very true for my own life. Sometimes we simply need to draw the wisdom of the Bible, common sense, a love for God and neighbor, and wise Christian counsel together and make the best possible decision we can from those sources.

Finally, for me, one of the most helpful pieces of wisdom in The Grand Paradox had to do with the information age. I don’t know about my readers, but I know that I am frequently overwhelmed by the amount of information that is now available and by how much I still need to learn. Sometimes I find myself almost paralyzed as I try by the process of sorting through conflicting information, by the the need to listen to all points of view fairly, by my own nagging questions.

Don’t get me wrong: I love the internet and am so grateful for all of the ways it enriches my life, builds community, and helps me grow in knowledge. But certainly there is a dark side wherein it becomes a slave driver and I can never do enough, learn enough, read enough. Wytsma wisely points to the need for Sabbath in the midst of this. Sabbath means daring to step away from the hamster wheel of more more MORE information from time to time and simply receiving the moment God has given with joy. And dear readers, this is something I already do and could probably do more of as well. On Sundays, I step away from my blog and I try (TRY!) to step away from social media too. I refresh my brain and remind myself it’s not about me and trumpeting my voice all over creation. It’s about God and other people. I find my brain refreshed and re-energized on Monday mornings as a result.

These are just three insights I gleaned from The Grand Paradox. There are many more scattered through the pages of this book. I’m grateful for this Christian leader’s humble, loving heart as he shares wisdom he has learned along the meandering path of faith.

Photo source: http://www.thomasnelson.com/the-grand-paradox

Note: I was given this book by Patheos in exchange for an honest review. This post was written in concert with Patheos’s Book Club.

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