small group, week 5 of 7

Last week we talked about experiences of receiving God's grace from other people or a turn of events. The upshot is a welling up of generosity that comes to you freely and often unexpectedly.

This week the focus is on the other side of that transaction; being the person who gives generously of one's goodness unreservedly, whether deserved or undeserved.

The Lord loves a humble servant is a basic part of the giving and serving and loving message. And yet last week we talked about how precious it is to give a kind word of recognition or an unspoken message in gesture or look of the eye: that it is a kind of blessing when one praises another person for a deed well done or remarks well made. In this case one can still be a humble servant since the attention goes to the person receiving the praise, even though the person who offers the praise is acting in servitude and humility, making an honest appreciation of the person.

Since we at the half-way in the 7 part series and our weekly meetings, we talked about the book's thesis: that there is a core or heart that is Christianity (the "least" you need to believe). In an age of distractions and rapid-fire topic switches, it is helpful to dwell on the ground on which all else is built. The first half of the book dispenses with things not part of Jesus' message and the Old Testament that he was bringing to life. The second half gives a dozen things to believe in list form. But once we have talked about these important items, the question is how can one apply this knowledge or sharpened vision? In other words, how do those central ideas connect to each other: is everything of equal importance and nothing coming prior to the others?

Looking at the small group and book reading experience from another angle, what difference does this new knowledge and understanding make to us individually, as a group and in the surrounding relationships we have? Perhaps the purpose is not to walk away with a new blueprint for life, but merely the value in dwelling on subjects that we don't otherwise talk about in our routines of living. That is, the consequence comes in cultivating new ideas and frameworks to understand things that have happened, are now unfolding, or may take place in the future. What we gain in the immediate moment is then transferred in our actions and aspirations as we go forth: others sense something different about us, or as the Quakers say, "your life speaks."

Perhaps it would be a useful challenge to wrestle with the list of "must believe" things and figure out how they hook together?