Whatever Made You Think the Christian Life Would Be Easy?

A studio upright sat by the door, but the small piano was truly the centerpiece of Helen’s apartment. A widow transitioning from married to single, from missionary to retiree, she poured sadness out the tips of her fingers, and the wealth of words absorbed over seven decades found their way into melancholy melodies.

Helen introduced me to the poetry of Amy Carmichael, not in the pages of books but in the meter of music. Since music sticks to my brain better than just about anything else, I still have access to most of it almost forty years later.

From prayer that asks that I may be
Sheltered from winds that beat on Thee,
From fearing when I should aspire,
From faltering when I should climb higher,
From silken self, O Captain, free
Thy soldier who would follow Thee.

From subtle love of softening things,
From easy choices, weakenings,
Not thus are spirits fortified,
Not this way went the Crucified;
From all that dims Thy Calvary,
O Lamb of God, deliver me.

Give me the love that leads the way,
The faith that nothing can dismay,
The hope no disappointments tire,
The passion that will burn like fire;
Let me not sink to be a clod;
Make me Thy fuel, Flame of God.”

Amy Carmichael meant business with God, and even though she was a product of the Victorian era with all its saccharine romance and overdone embellishment, she wrote like a warrior going off to battle. Making hard choices, it turns out, is just part of the package if one is a “soldier who would follow [God].”

All this makes me wonder where we ever got the idea that the Christian life should be easy. Jesus took on a body, knowing very well that it was destined to be fuel for the “Flame of God.” While the crowds and his disciples were still enjoying the rush of the Triumphal Entry, he knew and stated aloud that his true purpose would be fulfilled in his death.

Even at the pivotal and agonizing moment in the Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus’s prayers swerved dramatically from “Father, remove this cup” to “Not my will, but yours be done.” Nothing dimmed his “absolutely unmixed attention”¹ to the fulfillment of God’s plan.

“Make Me Thy Fuel, Flame of God”

Only this kind of a savior can empower believers for this kind of devotion. Only with supernatural help can 21st-century believers, committed to and indoctrinated in a Gospel of convenience and ease, open our hearts to a discipleship that costs us something. Whenever we’re confronted with hard choices, the opportunity to put someone else’s needs ahead of our own, or the chance to die to ourselves, we can certainly pray, “Lord, take this away.”

OR…
We can pray, “Lord, make me strong.”
“Make me Thy fuel, Flame of God.”

Nothing dimmed Jesus’s “unmixed attention” to the fulfillment of God’s plan. Only this kind of savior can empower believers for this kind of devotion.

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1. From Simone Weil’s definition of prayer in Gravity and Grace: “Absolutely unmixed attention is prayer.” ↩︎

And Now Let’s Talk Books…

The book began to write itself amid a mother/son conflict in which Baker realized she had inherited more from her dad than his height. Every parent who has struggled with her temper will nod with understanding as Baker grows in her realization that she was carrying forward the sins of her own dad and needed healing herself in order to move forward with grace. Because she submitted to the painful healing process, Lisa Jo Baker’s thoughts on forgiveness are both impactful and hopeful:

“Forgiveness is not an erasing of pain. It is looking the pain in the eyes and honoring it and then releasing it. And it does not require the participation of the perpetrator.”

When “love and grace and forgiveness have balanced out loss and pain and anger,” healing has won and the story finds its long and slow way back to hope.

Holding you in the light,

Because she submitted to the painful healing process, Lisa Jo Baker’s thoughts on forgiveness are both impactful and hopeful. My review of It Wasn’t Roaring, It Was Weeping via @ConvergentBooks

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On the third Thursday of every month, I send a newsletter with biblical encouragement straight to my subscribers’ email inboxes. Frequently, I share free resources, and the newsletter is where everything lands first. I’m committed to the truth that women can become confident followers of God and students of his Word, and I want to help you along that path.

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As you know, I’m committed to the truth that women can become confident followers of God and students of his Word, and it’s my goal to help you along that path. At Living Our Days, I provide biblical content and resources to encourage biblical literacy and faithful living, and now I’m sharing devotional content on the YouVersion app. Visit my profile page to get free access to the reading plans!

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Many thanks to Convergent Books and NetGalley for providing a copy of this book to facilitate my review, which is, of course, offered freely and with honesty.