Powerful Stuff

In case you weren't aware (and if you know me at all, you are most certainly aware), I am a huge fan of Donald Miller. This video is from a DVD series for small groups called Convergence that he is the host of. The DVDs cover many different topics, but in this particular clip, Don and his guests Dr. Dan Allender and Dr. Tremper Longman talk about suffering, and the misconception that once we accept Christ as our Savior our lives will become perfect and problem-free. I know I often fall into the trap of believing that my life should be easy because of my relationship with Jesus, and it's always helpful to be reminded that that just is not the case!

Frustration and False Gods from All Things Converge on Vimeo.

Living FOR something

"Dying for something is easy because it is associated with glory. Living for something...is the hard thing. Living for something extends beyond fashion, glory, or recognition."
-Donald Miller

This quote is from a great book called Blue Like Jazz. I had been wanting to read it forever, and I even started it once a couple years ago, but I finally read the whole thing this fall. So many things that Donald Miller wrote in that book totally hit home for me. I'm glad I didn't finish it the first time I started it, because I don't think I would have gotten as much out of it as I did now. It's amazing the difference a couple of years can make. It's amazing the difference not being in high school can make. Haha.
Anyway, back to the point of all this. This quote really stuck out to me, because it put so perfectly into words the thing that I, that we all, struggle with our whole lives. It's one of those things that you read and just say, "you know, I never thought about that before, but it is so true." When you die for something, your suffering and pain are brief, but when you live for something, especially something controversial, you face a daily struggle to stay true to what you believe. I totally admire people who have figured out how to really live for something. It is something that I have yet to figure out.