Having “savior moments.”
Nov 18th by JonI wish Barnes & Noble had a diving board instead of a front door.
That way, I could jump into the books and swim around like Scrooge McDuck in his money bin.
I want to run down the aisles with my arms open wide pulling books from the shelf that I then roll around in and laugh, laugh, laugh the day away while Natasha Beddingfield’s “Unwritten” plays in the background.
I love bookstores.
But recently I thought I was going to throw up in one.
I got all dizzy and sweaty. I felt faint and had to sit down. I lost the wonder of Tom Hanks in the toy store scene of the movie “Big.” I panicked.
Why? …
Were they out of Bassin’ Magazine? Did the shelf that contains the veritable wall of “Left Behind” books fall on my foot, crushing several, small but significant bones? Were the moleskine notebooks in the wrong section of the store? Nope. It was much worse than that ….
I realized the Stuff Christians Like book wasn’t going to save me.
I had gone to Barnes & Noble that day to research what other books were in my category. So I went through hundreds of different Christian books and hundreds of different humor books. And I couldn’t find many that were like the one I had written. Sure, Stuff White People Like and Stuff Mid Westerners Like, but there wasn’t a Christians humor section for my book to land safely in. I couldn’t find a place on the shelf were the book I wrote would fit. I started to think, “Oh no, my book is not going to sell.”
I started to think, this book experience isn’t going to change my life. It’s not going to be some financial windfall or make me famous or taller or less insecure. It’s not going to save me.
Then I got really depressed and dizzy and other words that mean the opposite of “awesome.” That’s when I remembered a truth I have learned 37 different times:
“My greatest disappointments in life are when I ask anyone or anything other than Jesus Christ to be my savior.”
Have you ever done that? Have you ever unknowingly said to a new job, “OK, new job. Here are my expectations. I want you to make me happier, filled with joy and more content as a person. I expect you to save me from my previous job and magically make me a better person.”
Or maybe you’ve done that with a relationship. “OK, new boyfriend. I need you to fix all my problems. I have some hurt in my life, some emptiness in a few spots and I need you, in the context of this dating relationship, to fill me with a light that shines bright and true and perfect. OK, go!”
Or maybe for you it’s stuff.
I thought owning a guitar would make me a better guitar player.
Maybe you thought buying a new car would make you feel new.
Or owning a house in the right neighborhood would make you feel right.
I don’t know you that well, but I do know this, that person you asked to save you, that possession you asked to heal you, failed. Your wife made a mistake, your boyfriend was human, your mom messed up. The job turned out to be different than it was promised to be. The shine wore off a new toy.
And for me, those moments feel a little terrifying. I thought this was the one. I thought that writing a book would save me. From the mundane, from the difficult corners of life, from all the little things that just don’t seem to go right.
But it didn’t and it won’t.
Why?
Because that’s Christ’s job.
He and he alone is in the Savior business. He and he alone can rescue you from deep waters. He and he alone can save you from powerful enemies. And you know why? You know why God does that? It’s not because He has to. He doesn’t do it out of obligation. Not at all. Psalm 18:19 says “He rescued me because he delighted in me.”
I hope the Stuff Christians Like book sells a ton of copies. I hope you’ll buy 14 each and give them out to friends like orange flavored tic tacs or big league chew gum. But regardless of it sells a million copies or 17, please know this, it won’t save me.
That position is already filled in my life and it’s filled in yours too.
So let’s stop asking anyone or anything other than Jesus Christ to be our Savior.
Comments
P.S. Good post too.
Wow. Wow, did I need to hear that. I've been blogging about similar things and my heart has really been hurting… and I am definitely not counting on Jesus to be my savior. Thanks for the wake-up call.
Jon, my brand new iPhone, 2 new guitars, and recent move 1,000 miles away from the people I always complained about (yet somehow miss) would like to differ.
Kidding, of course. Great post.
[...] My greatest disappointments in life are when I ask anyone or anything other than Jesus Christ to be … [...]
I had that dizzy and sweaty experience once.. and passed out in the library, but that was just b/c I was pregnant.:)
I'm so glad that Jesus is the only one in the Savior business. I, too have found that owning a guitar does not make me a good guitar player. And a Bible must be opened and read for it to take any root in my heart.
I've made this mistake an embarrassing number of times. Thanks for a reminder that resonates with so many.
Love this site everday, but I really love Wednesdays! Such a great reminder of where our hope should really lie!
That was really touching. :')
We need to be saved from ourselves.
And God is the only One who can do that.
I don't know if you are able to read all the comments on each of your entries, but its important that I tell you that when God told you that your book isn't going to save you, He wasn't speaking to a one-man audience. I've been stressed out and depressed and messed up and just -essed in general about how lonely I felt in college fellowship and at church. I joined both communities because of the AMAZING way they display Christ's grace in the way they interact, but I feel left out, like I'm not a part, and like they don't really know me. I've been killed by working so hard in school and getting substandard results compared to my peers who manage to accomplish more than me. I've been stressed about not having a free, solitary moment to think about this. And then God whispered, "Your fellowships can't save you from loneliness. Your achievements can't save you from inadequacy and an uncertain future. You asked them without even thinking of Me."
The Lord is full of grace and mercy and our joy in the Lord gives us strength.
I don't know about you, but I think it's kind of sad that there isn't a "Christian humor" section. Seems to me we have more to be joyous about and laugh at than anyone else.
So, good for you Jon for getting the section on it's way.
Had this exact same realization yesterday. =)
Whoa, this hit me pretty hard…I forgot it was Serious Wednesday.
I'm so guilty of this…thinking a person or a thing is going to save me, is going to complete my life and make me a better person.
Two things:
1. The opener describes my love for bookstores in surprisingly accurate detail.
2. Said life lesson is also surprisingly accurate.
Thanks for the nutshells.
This is so true. Have you ever Mark Driscoll's Sermon on Idols? It's all about how our modern society chooses items that are "functional saviors" (cars, jobs, people, etc) to save us from what we think is hell ( a bad car, a boring job, living alone, etc). Every day I feel like I have to try and redirect my heart from choosing another functional savior
Very insightful… I love it… too awesome
So I guess that means you can't rightly call the book yours anymore, ay? Relinquishing attachments and ownership… that's a Hindu thing, isn't it? God bless those Hindus. By the way, I liked the mention of orange tic-tacs.
Oh yes, I have done that. About 10 years ago I lost 115 pounds and it improved my life so dramatically and in so many ways that I let it become my own personal god. How insane is that? My own personal savior was not just a thing, but something I created myself. Sin piled upon sin leading to the greatest disappointments in life.
I'm all for letting Jesus be my one and only savior. That is the only way to never be disappointed.
I constantly put people on pedestals. And what always ends up happening? They fall. Why? Because they're human. And I get mad. Mad that they weren't the awesome god I wanted them to be.
Why do we do that to people? Why do we put pressure on people and things and ourselves that they can't possibly live up to? God and god alone never fails. Learning to put all of my trust faith and hopes in Him.
I'm interviewing for a new position at work, which I'm really excited about. But I've found myself at times falling into this very scenario. Even more so with the line of thinking "please let everything just let all my cases stay stable until I pass them off to someone else." Which is a terribly selfish thinking, since I work with kids and needy families. I'm working on it… but I need a remind, so thanks.
Great, great post. I just went through something similar…not looking to others for pats on the back…because that can't give you what only God can. Thanks for sharing.
http://www.agapiclothing.com for some nice Christian Inspired Apperal…
You make an excellent point. God is God, my desires aren't supposed to be.
Your book is going to sell big time. Fear not.
Serious Wednesdays are my favorite. Every day should be serious Wednesday.
Interestingly, Zondervan is also behind the only other genuinely funny Christian author I've read – Adrian Plass. From the first post I read of yours, it echoed of him – in so many good ways. He's a UK author and beloved writer of the Adrian Plass series. If you haven't already, you should read him. And be encouraged. Adrian Plass is hugely popular in the UK, my homeland of South Africa, and Zondervan brought him Stateside too. He's been a hit for a long time. Apparently Zondervan knows what it's doing.
That spoke into my life and what I'm going through right now. Thanks, Jon!
There was a man who wanted to make something of value with himself – something that would have meaning and purpose – and the Lord God gave him a pillar of rock the size of a standing stone, and said to him, "Carve your life from this."
So the man set to work, a grand vision in his mind, determined to craft a many-fluted wonder from the gift. He chiseled, scraped and cut and put everything he had into the carving, all his fears and dreams. Then he stepped back to admire his work…
It wasn't what he'd hoped. Where there had been a pillar, there was now a pitted boulder. So he took his hammer and chisel and began again, trying to create a sculpture worthy of the Christ. When he was done, he stepped back to admire it…
Again, it wasn't all he'd imagined. Where there had been a boulder, there was now a rock, cracked and rough and barely the size of his fist. So he began once more, imagining something intricate and beautiful, small but glorious…
…It wasn't to be. He stepped back to discover that even with all the love and care he'd expended, he was left with a pebble and not a particularly pretty pebble at that. Nonetheless, it was what he had and there was nothing more to be done. With a heavy heart, he took the pebble and gave it to the Lord God, saying, "Here's my life, Lord. I'm sorry it's not everything I set out for it to be."
To the man's surprise, the Lord smiled and, when he opened his hands to receive the pebble, there were a thousand, thousand others in his grasp, of all sizes and colours and shapes. Before the man's eyes, the Lord created a wonder to span the ages, intricate, glorious and beautiful. The Lord God took the pebbles and made from them a church of living stones. And the man saw it, and understanding and contentment were his at last, and he worshipped the Lord with all his heart and strength and mind and soul.
Thanks, Jon.
Found you through Graceful's blog. So glad I did. I will definitely be back!
Genny
http://www.mycup2yours.com
So well said about asking anything else to be my Savior. I've been thinking about that all day since I read your post. I think it was just what I needed to hear now. Thanks.