Control or faith? My choice.

A couple of weeks ago, a client gave me a CD with an audio interview a guy named Steve Brown did with the author of "The Shack", Paul Young. Despite some of the controversy in religious circles about Young's theology...the book is creating discussion and thinking that I believe needs to take place in all of us. As I listened to the interview this week, two things stuck: 1) Young's comment that he would rather give up control than live a life without faith; without trust in God's ultimate goodness and care. I'll paraphrase what he said: "Control flies in the face of faith"...so often, I want order and management - no surprises, in my life. What do I miss? And what are the usual outcomes of my contolling tendencies? Usually relationship suffers. Wonder and joy tend to vanish in my controlled world. Adventure and surprise emerge in a world of faith. It's scary to let go of the trapeze bar of control and for a moment, freefall before grabbing hold of the bar of faith. Grabbing that new bar is like operating without a net. But what do I fear? In the end, do I fear a God who is never satisfied, who is a cosmic killjoy? Or, do I long to move toward him when he whispers again and again, "Do you trust me?" 2) Young draws from another brilliant author, Ravi Zacharias, when he comments on the relationship of Father, Son and Spirit: "Unity and diversity in the community of the Trinity." I believe part of our being made in God's image is the element of God's love that says, "This relationship we (the Trinity) live is too good not to share... Let's make people in our image...so that they can taste what we experience together...the fulness of relationship."