Rob Bell is my Rabbi

Rob Bell is my Rabbi.

I know that I get very excited about reading. And I know that those close to me get really tired of hearing me quote lines from what I'm reading. But I also know that God has used books to completely reshape my thinking in the last year or so.

It all started when Jimmy loaned me "A New Kind of Christian" about a year and a half ago (?). That's what started it all. But now I'm reading Velvet Elvis by Rob Bell (thanks again to Jimmy). I can say with complete certainty that this is the best book I have laid eyes on. My entire way of approaching the Christian faith and what it means to follow Jesus is being turned completely upside down. . . again. I am only HALF WAY THROUGH THE SECOND CHAPTER. I want to read it all now, but I have to put the book down after every half page. I got through the first chapter and had to start over and read it again, because I wanted it all to sink in. Seriously, get this book. I'm going to buy a bunch and give them away. Crissi, you GOTTA read this.

I feel like I have been given permission to live again and that my questions and frustrations have been validated. It's like I've been searching for explanations and trying to find a way to link what's in my head to following Jesus. I know that there's a different approach to following Jesus and I keep getting snippets of it from various people but have never seen it put into words like this. I feel like questions that I had but never knew I had, have been answered even before I could ask them.

As soon as I get my new computer and faster connection (hopefully in the next 2 weeks), I will be downloading Rob Bell's sermons to my ipod and soaking it all in. I just cannot get enough. I have found my Rabbi. The one who can put into words, and teach me, the way I want to follow Jesus. So, with all that said, you're probably going to see a lot of quotes from Velvet Elvis here on my blog. Just warning you. Here's the first. It's kind of long, but read it:

As a Christian, I am simply trying to orient myself around living a particular kind of way, the kind of way that Jesus taught is possible. And I think that the way of Jesus is the best possible way to live.

This isn't irrational or primitive or blind faith. It is merely being honest that we are all living a "way".

I'm convinced being generous is a better way to live.

I'm convinced that forgiving people and not carrying around bitterness is a better way to live.

I'm convinced having compassion is a better way to live.

I'm convinced pursuing peace in every situation is a better way to live.

I'm convinced listening to the wisdom of others is a better way to live.

I'm convinced being honest with people is a better wayt to live.

This way of thinking isn't weird or strange; it is simply acknowledging that everybody follows somebody, and I'm trying to follow Jesus. Over time when you purposefully try to live the way of Jesus, you start noticing something deeper going on. You begin realizing the reason this is the best way to live is that it is rooted in profound truths about how the world is. You find yourself living more and more in tune with ultimate reality. You are more and more in sync with how the universe is at its deepest levels.

Jesus' intention was, and is, to call people to live in tune with reality. He said at one point that if you had seen him, you had "seen the Father". He claimed to be showing us what God is like. In his compassion, peace, truth telling, and generosity, he was showing us God.

And God is the ultimate reality. There is nothing more beyond God.

[PAY ATTENTION PEOPLE, THIS IS GINA'S FAVORITE PART]

Jesus at one point claimed to be "the way, the truth, and the life". Jesus was not making claims about one religion being better than all other religions. That completely misses the point, the depth, and the truth. Rather, he was telling those who were following him that his way is the way to the depth of reality. This kind of life Jesus was living, perfectly and completely in connection and cooperation with God, is the best possible way for a person to live.