I was working on my Martin Luther essay and got distracted by a book on my table. It was Blue Like Jazz by Donald Miller. I haven't read it yet but I just read the introduction and thought it was worth sharing. Here it goes:
"I never liked jazz music because jazz music didn't resolve. But I was outside the Bagdad Theatre in Portland one night when I saw a man playing the saxophone. I stood there for fifteen minutes, and he never opened his eyes.
After that I liked jazz music.
Sometimes you have to watch somebody love something before you can love it yourself. It is as if they are showing you the way.
I used to not like God because God didn't resolve. But that was before any of this happens."
In researching Martin Luther, I found that he once said, "I do not love God! I hate him." This was the same Luther who revolutionised Christianity, who brought the world away from the church as an institution and into Christianity as a personal, living faith.
Yet, he hated God.
He hated God because of his guilt... because he was a sinful, messed up wretch who God had every right to squash if He so chose.
One verse made a difference to Martin: Romans 1:17
This Gospel tells us how God makes us right in his sight. This is accomplished from start to finish by faith. As the scriptures say, "It is through faith that a righteous person has life."
The reason Martin's hate was turned to love was the realisation that God isn't waiting to squash us, who have faith in his Son. He's saving them and changing them and that is something worth enjoying.
Close your eyes, enjoy the jazz.
Posts
