FROM: Banbury, Oxfordshire, United Kingdom
ABOUT ME: Living the highs and lows of life in the adventurous pursuit of God Himself and of who I'm meant to be as the Bride of Christ.
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Friday, December 11, 2009,7:43 p.m.
INSPIRATION AND INFLUENCE
I love to read. Love it. I have a library - for real. Not a bookshelf, but a library. (Lately it's also been a lending library - hoping that works out for me....) Exhibit A is below:
If my "library" looks like I'm trying to be snooty, please notice the obnoxious orange chair (in which I'm currently sitting), recovered in 1972 by someone with a love of fur-like material. That should balance out any accusation of pretensions to snobbery that may arise from my love of books. (Man, I really need to get that chair re-upholstered.....)
Generally I read books - novels especially, like murder mysteries and classic literature. Tonight I was reading something a little different. I stumbled onto someone else's writings (Andy Merrick's, to be precise - I can't remember how I stumbled on his blog originally ..... someone must have sent me a link) and was realizing how enjoyable it was to read someone's thoughts and wit and actually to laugh aloud at some of the things I read. (It's fortunate to be alone when these things occur.) And a funny thing happened. As I read someone else's thoughts and writings, I got inspired to come here and write something of my own. Needless to say, inspiration has waned for me a little in the last few weeks and it's been a large chunk of time again since I've posted anything new (to the point that I'm quite certain no one will read this as everyone has by now given up checking in on my blog to see if it's changed).
I had a second thought after that initial recognition of inspiration. The second thought involved influence. What if something we do well has the power to influence others who do the same? For instance, attending a symphony concert always makes me want to head home and practice my violin, even if it is midnight. Hanging out with worship-crazy people makes me want to dive into a deeper understanding and exercise of true worship. Having a conversation with someone who has just read a great book makes me want to go home and read something new.
We all have gifts and passions. I believe that just in the very exercise of those passions we have the ability to influence people to exercise their own passions, whether it is in the same area or a different one. Perhaps that is a heavy thought to some - the thought of a responsibility within the things that we might do simply for enjoyment. For me, the thought is a freeing one. Who knows but that with the simple and passionate love I have for Jesus I might influence someone else to dig deeper to to receive His love more freely. Who's to say? And just as Andy Merrick will likely never know I have read his blog once or twice and that I was inspired by his skill with the written word, I don't need to know the results of my own living with passion. I can be free from a sense of obligation and simply live my life with abandon - continue to run after the things that God has placed in my heart. It is a letting go of agenda and instead experiencing an enjoyment in the moment.
To me, that sounds the abundant life that we have been offered. And I wonder how much more influence it would actually have if people could see that our lives as Believers are lived from the place of conviction and passion instead of a place of motivation and obligation. The irony is that if we truly live with passion and conviction and free ourselves, even as Believers, from what appears to others as a hidden agenda, we will never know what that influence was or will be. I rather like that idea myself.
Can you imagine, if we were all truly hidden in this way, how much clearer God Himself will be? Now that is an inspiring thought....
If my "library" looks like I'm trying to be snooty, please notice the obnoxious orange chair (in which I'm currently sitting), recovered in 1972 by someone with a love of fur-like material. That should balance out any accusation of pretensions to snobbery that may arise from my love of books. (Man, I really need to get that chair re-upholstered.....)
Generally I read books - novels especially, like murder mysteries and classic literature. Tonight I was reading something a little different. I stumbled onto someone else's writings (Andy Merrick's, to be precise - I can't remember how I stumbled on his blog originally ..... someone must have sent me a link) and was realizing how enjoyable it was to read someone's thoughts and wit and actually to laugh aloud at some of the things I read. (It's fortunate to be alone when these things occur.) And a funny thing happened. As I read someone else's thoughts and writings, I got inspired to come here and write something of my own. Needless to say, inspiration has waned for me a little in the last few weeks and it's been a large chunk of time again since I've posted anything new (to the point that I'm quite certain no one will read this as everyone has by now given up checking in on my blog to see if it's changed).
I had a second thought after that initial recognition of inspiration. The second thought involved influence. What if something we do well has the power to influence others who do the same? For instance, attending a symphony concert always makes me want to head home and practice my violin, even if it is midnight. Hanging out with worship-crazy people makes me want to dive into a deeper understanding and exercise of true worship. Having a conversation with someone who has just read a great book makes me want to go home and read something new.
We all have gifts and passions. I believe that just in the very exercise of those passions we have the ability to influence people to exercise their own passions, whether it is in the same area or a different one. Perhaps that is a heavy thought to some - the thought of a responsibility within the things that we might do simply for enjoyment. For me, the thought is a freeing one. Who knows but that with the simple and passionate love I have for Jesus I might influence someone else to dig deeper to to receive His love more freely. Who's to say? And just as Andy Merrick will likely never know I have read his blog once or twice and that I was inspired by his skill with the written word, I don't need to know the results of my own living with passion. I can be free from a sense of obligation and simply live my life with abandon - continue to run after the things that God has placed in my heart. It is a letting go of agenda and instead experiencing an enjoyment in the moment.
To me, that sounds the abundant life that we have been offered. And I wonder how much more influence it would actually have if people could see that our lives as Believers are lived from the place of conviction and passion instead of a place of motivation and obligation. The irony is that if we truly live with passion and conviction and free ourselves, even as Believers, from what appears to others as a hidden agenda, we will never know what that influence was or will be. I rather like that idea myself.
Can you imagine, if we were all truly hidden in this way, how much clearer God Himself will be? Now that is an inspiring thought....
