What an amazing way to begin a book that is essentially the
faith journey of author Sarah Bessey! I
have to admit that I was hooked from the beginning; an intro that perfectly
sums up my current stage of life and Christian maturity.
The style of writing of Sarah Bessey has a quality to it
that almost seems sculpted and poetic.
The pictures that she paints with her verbiage are as beautiful as the
concepts that she is explaining. This
book is no different. I found myself
often staggered by the images that she used.
In a word, it was beautiful.
However, this is not a book of mere beauty and no
substance. Each chapter has a unique
title and subject that could probably stand alone but when gathered together in
this way, they absolutely shine. While
articulating beliefs (both her own and others) on various aspects of the
Christian life, Sarah Bessey invites readers on her journey while encouraging
them to embark on their own.
“I
wanted to follow Jesus: not a way of thinking or a doctrine, not a sermon or a
list of rules, not political affiliations and church denominations or a path to
a shiny-happy life or anything like that.
I wanted to follow him and love him, right to the end, wherever he led.”
-
Chapter 2, Out of Sorts
While I cannot claim to agree with everything she has
articulated in this book, I feel that that in and of itself is okay. Ms. Bessey gives the reader permission to
disagree and figure it out on their own while still challenging you to seek the
hard things and not shy away just because it is hard or sad or unpopular.
“What I thought I knew or what I
thought I believed turned out to be seeing through a glass darkly. Even now, I am fairly certain I only have a
small candle to aid my vision.”
-
Chapter 4, Out of Sorts
Sarah herself proclaims that she doesn’t quite have it all
figured out (not anymore #recoveringknowitall) and that what she does have
figured out may change as she grows and matures. That is the central lesson of the book, in my
view. We are constantly sorting;
continuously going through the boxes of our faith and throwing out the old to
make room for the new. If we aren’t
living a life of faith that is growing, maturing, and living, then we aren’t
really living a life of faith.
“Anyone who gets to the end of
their life with the exact same beliefs and opinions as they had at the beginning
is doing it wrong.”
- Chapter 5, Out of Sorts
We can’t take someone else’s word for matters as important
as these. They are ours to wrestle with
and figure out, to store and to give away.
That is what Sarah Bessey does in this book. From issues ranging the gambit from Jesus to
Community to Grief, she takes a hard look at the ideas that permeate our
current Christian climate and then looks at them from a Biblical and historic
view. Even though, the book is written
from her unique perspective, it is quite
easy to plug in your own sorting.
“Who
do you say he is? And not the proper
Sunday-school answer, not the lists of attributes or the memorized Bible verses
– not here, not in this place. When we
are sorting through our very core self, this isn’t the time for the mask of
right answers. This is the time for the
honesty. In your heart of hearts, in
your raw place of grief and suffering, in your rich center of love and
redemption, who do you say God is?
There, in that place, who is he to you now?”
-
Chapter 10, Out of Sorts
Above all else, there is a value on Truth and honesty and a
call for us to clear out the attic space of our own faith and to not be scared
of what we might find. There may be
things that absolutely need to be tossed, but there may also be things of
beauty that need to be restored. We must
be honest and claim each item no matter where it came from or when we received
it. There is beauty in that as well,
because it is all a part of us. It is
all part of our journey. However, we
cannot simply hold on to things due to sentimentality. We have to make the hard choices in this
sorting process. And whichever it is, it
is up to us to begin this process and to be led by the Holy Spirit into all
Truth. And sorting.
“I know you feel a bit out of
sorts. We all do sometimes. It’s okay.
Don’t be afraid.”
-
Benediction, Out of Sorts
No comments:
Post a Comment