In The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat, Oliver Sacks wrote about patients that came through his office for psychological evaluation and help. One of the stories was about a musician and music teacher who, it was discovered, had a condition that hindered him from seeing the whole of an object. He would look at a face and see two eyes, a nose, a mouth, cheeks and chin, but could not on occasion tell who the person was even if it was a student in his class. He looked at a glove and could tell the color, that it was leather, that it had five appendages in varying lengths, but he could not tell that it was a glove. Sometimes we embrace the rules of Christianity as though they were the essence of discipleship. In doing so, we fail to see the whole picture. Christianity is more that a conglomeration of rules. It is a relationship. It is more than a religious system; it involves a Savior. It is more than a project with various parts; it is centered on a person - Jesus of Nazareth. Our obedience is our expression of faith in the person, the Savior, and the relationship. When we see the whole of Christianity instead of just parts, obedience will be what God intended it to be - a real blessing to our lives. That’s Life at Work!
(It is worth saying that I found the Sacks story in Leadership Journal a few years back)
1 comment:
I bought that book recently at a thrift store. I have always heard stories from it, and wanted to read it. Well, my "to read" list is quite long these days. Anyhoo... Only seeing a partial view of Christianity ... interesting theme that could be developed into some interesting lessons. Maybe this is why some Christians can participate fully in the church, but only give a tiny portion (if any) when the collection plate comes around. They can't see it! Ah! Better, perhaps this is why some Christians feel they can worship God with their whole heart, although they have been cantakerous toward their brothers and sisters. More come to mind, but this is getting long.
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