In preparing for my series on "How to Find Faith" I'm gathering stories of people coming to faith, in books, in personal stories and, hopefully, by your posting to this blog! Blue Like Jazz is the musings of a young man (Donald Miller) who has a knack of talking about coming to faith in a very "unchurchy" way - very refreshing for those of us who are sick of the jargon and cliches that seem to come with the faith package.
I was captured by the "authors note" at the beginning of the book. He says...
"I never liked jazz music because jazz music doesn't resolve. But I was outside the Bagdad Theatre in Portland one night when I saw a man playing a 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 happened."
You see, this is how a post-modern thinks...sometimes you have to watch somebody love something before you can love it yourself. In our presentation of Jesus and faith, we so often shove factoids at people and wonder why they don't get excited. I think it's because they wonder why we aren't excited. They wonder - if this is such "good news" then why do they share it like it's medicine - not enjoyable...but something you just endure for your own good? People want to see that we are in love with Jesus ourselves and being transformed by him. When they see that in us, then they might be willing to consider what we have to say.
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