Growth

Magnificent Obsession

Steven Curtis Chapman has a song that says:

This is everything I want
This is everything I need
I want this to be my one consuming passion
Everything my heart desires
Lord, I want it all to be for You, Jesus
Be my magnificent obsession

The song always struck me because of the ironic juxtaposition of a “magnificent” obsession. Most people think of magnificent as good and obsession as bad. Of course, the irony is that an obsession with Christ is an obsession with all that is holy and good; thereby making it magnificent.

However, there’s another part to this. An obsession with Jesus is magnificent because it makes Christ bigger in our life and us smaller. In other words, it literally magnifies our Savior by demonstrating His supremacy. In an individualistic society where we think of even our relationship with God in terms of its personal impact, we forget that an obsession with Christ isn’t about us being concerned with the right things. Just as with any real aim in life, its about acknowledging God’s rightful position. It’s saying “more of you Lord, less of me”; “You must increase that I must decrease.” Our single minded concern with Christ isn’t about what good it brings me; its about the glory it brings Him.

David Wells said “God rests too inconsequentially upon the Church.” Maybe if we were more obsessed with magnifying Him, making Him larger in our life, the impact would be a little more difficult to contain and the consequences for us, and the world, a little more tremendous.

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Growth

Very Christian

In talking with my mom, I once described a lady we both knew as “very pregnant.” Questioning my terminology, my mom made the accurate point that you either are or are not pregnant – its not something that is given degrees of existence. She was right, but I continued to use the phrase. After all, I wasn’t trying to describe the existence of the life inside of the woman – the fact that she was pregnant indicated that it was there. I was trying to describe the level of visible evidence for it.

I was reminded of this little story by a quotation I read from Nicole Richie. In describing her recent habit of picking up crucifixes and wearing them around her neck, she confessed that she got them from her boyfriend, Good Charlotte singer Joel Madden, who she described as “very, very, Christian.” Leaving aside the thoughts on wearing religious jewelry as a fashion accessory, I was still taken aback by her words. After all, just as my mom had pointed on to me about pregnancy, with Christianity you either are or you aren’t. Jesus doesn’t leave much room for in between (See Rev. 3:16.)

Although I still think my initial reaction was the right one, I also think that there is something to the description. After all, maybe Miss Richie and others use the phrase similarly to how I was. Maybe saying someone is “very, very Christian” is an indication of the level of visible evidence for their commitment. One can argue with how that evidence is interpreted, but you its hard to argue with its existence.

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