4God loves each of us as if there were only one of us.
-St. Augustine
This is such an important and reassuring truth to grasp. And yet I don't think our main struggle, in terms of our identity, has to do with our sense of individual importance. Culturally we emphasize self-esteem and individualism. It is vital for us, as followers of Christ, to view ourselves as God views us. We must approach Him on His terms. Therefore our links to Adam, to Christ, and to the Church are important and inescapable. We are part of a group. We need to spend time pondering and recognizing who we are corporately if we are to break out of the lopsided philosophical mold we've been squeezed into. The renewing of our minds to think God's thoughts after Him is true liberation.
4 comments:
what a joyous truth!
God loves each of us as if we were His own Son (the link to Christ which you mentioned).
The irony in our culture's emphasis on the individual is that in the search to find one's own identity (apart from others), one in fact loses it (the C.S. Lewis quote on Sienna/Kyrie's blog).
Great stuff, Damien.
I wrote a song that I hope to be teaching the songleaders in the Church in a couple of weeks. It was all about whether or not Jesus would have gone to the cross even if it were just for me.
I don't have the music digitized, yet. But the words are here:
http://www.nothingimportantto.us/
blogextras/SpiritualStuff/
wouldhe.asp
You apparently have to put the link back together.
I've just picked up Augustine's Confessions again. This time I am going to complete them. It's so much better to struggle through a complex theological book than to try to read one of those feel good, self-esteem God books. (Someone said that once.)
"What place is there in me to which my God can come, what place can receive the God who made heaven and earth? Does this then mean, O Lord my God, that there is in me something fit to contain you?"
Post a Comment