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Christianity Today, June (Web-only), 2007 |

SoulWork

I Love, Therefore You Are

Why the modern search for self ends in despair.

Mark Galli | posted 6/28/2007 08:41AM

In a recent issue of The New Yorker, you can find a cartoon with a couple sitting on a couch. One says to the other, "I don't want to be defined by who I am."

The line is so human and so modern. The human ...

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Kerry E. Southorn

Posted: July 11, 2007 4:10 PM

The article left me with a sense of foggy error rather than outright untruth. The author is obviously speaking about the love of God to Christians in referring to verses in John 17. He then goes on to say that God is slumming when He loves us. The fact that God would even consider making provision for our salvation is a marvel--but His accepting and loving us based on the death of our Lord is surely not "slumming". God is "great in counsel and mighty in work" (Jeremiah) and His magnanimity in extending His grace to us may be "stooping" but not "slumming". There is offence to God in the inference of the word. Further, our identity is in Christ whether there is another soul who loves us or not. Our faith was never meant to stand alone , but it needs to be able to if called upon to do so.

Mihaly Tapolyai

Posted: July 03, 2007 1:14 PM

Mr. Galliís article made my concept more complete, as for Christian psychiatrist. I follow the idea from the Danish pastor and philosopher Kierkegaard. He founded the Existentialism. He said "I am who I am as you see me and I am as I ought to be, or wish to be."(1848) We have to walk on our life line from the present reality toward the future self-image. I added to be Christlike, Mr. Galli presented the everyday conflicts in it. Thank you for this wonderful lighting Five stars Mihaly Tapolyai

Joyful in Christ's light

Posted: June 29, 2007 9:13 AM

Although badly written and without linguistic sensitivity to purity kindness of God that is ALWAYS inclusive and welcoming like a parent, this article does highlight how corrupt the West is with its individualism and how utterly sad and lonely and uncared for even the Christian is. Make no wonder then that Churches and Christian web-forums are meat-markets and dating agencies and people hunger to devour each other. No one finds the comfort and companionship and intimacy with Jesus that He so freely offers. Instead we bury ourselves in atempted romantic attachments; making ourselves Cinderellas and Prince-Charmings rather than a holy people. Thus Christ's light does NOT shine on us and we are far from joyful and far from humble but ever-close to the dating-agency. Paul wrote in Ephesians that we must arise from our slumber and Christ will shine on us; He wants to shower us with his love and embrace us in depth and holy intimacy. But our corruption from individualism has made us sick.

Bob Robinson

Posted: June 29, 2007 6:51 AM

I agree 100%. Those in the church that worry about those of us trying to reach postmoderns with a gospel that repudiates modernity should read your words. The Emerging Church is getting a lot of negative press and books are being written that are down-right ugly in their portrayal of the E.C. But one thing many modernist Christians have been blind to is the individualistic gospel that they continue to propagate. Thanks so much for articulating the Trinitarian understanding of the gospel! Also, when the Jehovah's Witnesses come to my door, I always feel sad that their anti-trinitarian doctrine misses THE major point of who God is and what God has done for us!!

Anonymous

Posted: June 29, 2007 6:19 AM

A better metaphor than saying God is "slumming" when he visits with us is to say that He is a caring would-be parent visiting an orphanage to adopt as many children as he can. We are poor and naked and dirty and immature, and so God wants to raise us up as his own. But to say God is slumming is to say that he is a debaucher who wants to become unholy himself. When God visits with us he wants to have us know that we are cared for. Although Jesus cast himself down and humbled himself it was in order to become a parent to us. It was not to become slovenly and pig-like in his rummaging amongst the dirty.

George T.

Posted: June 28, 2007 6:29 PM


Such a great article. I cannot find a word to add.

Anonymous

Posted: June 28, 2007 1:35 PM

This article superficially touches on many important points: God does not need us but that's because he is not psychologically needy and so we too should not need God in the neediness way; The scriptures say we should have FELLOWSHIP with God and also fellowship with each other. Fellowship is not a needy empty unloved bunch of people coming together to suck each other dry. God too enjoys our fellowship but is not emotionally needy. But to say he does not "need" us is a devaluation of the perfect love and honour which God does afford us. He loves us unconditionally and despite our faults. This does not mean he slums it when he meets us; that is just plain disrespectful to the honour of God. And to say he does not need us is trite and superficial unless you explain that it is because he is not insufficient without us, but meets us well and fully. I must say we in the west are very uncared for if we devalue our fellowship with God so much that we talk so disrespectfully about Him and us.

Sarah

Posted: June 28, 2007 1:06 PM


I love this article.. Well-stated, through the whole piece... I absolutely adore the sentence, "God is slumming when he loves us." I've never heard it put better or more succinctly than that.

Brenda

Posted: June 28, 2007 12:37 PM

WOW! This article is amazing. The author has unveiled our self-centered egos and simply revealed the purpose of our God-given life - to love others (well, there's also to love God; I hesitate to group Him with "others", but there is the paradox of oneness, yet individualness to consider). Thank you, Mark Galli, for a truly inspiring wake-up call. I also liked how you emphasized that God doesn't need us, but that His trinitarian love just spilled over to create us. Not necessary to add this, but to further the discussion: I think that when God's word tells us that we can greive and please God, that this does not indicated God's neediness (for God is self sufficient), but that it only shows his love for us. Great devotional!

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