Rich Mullins: self-forgetting

This morning I jumped over to Tammie's blog and she had THIS POST about Rich Mullins. It stopped me in my tracks. Man... Rich Mullins. He has probably had as much to do with my formation as a Christ-follower as anyone. I loved his music, enjoyed his concerts, was mesmerized by his mini-sermons, and his writings made so clear thoughts I was unable to put together myself. And... I had forgotten him. Which is made even worse by the fact that we'll be singing one of his songs at our worship gathering this Sunday. 'An Arrow Pointing to Heaven' was a truly incredible book. I need to read it again. Anyway, I can't do justice here, but I am really glad Tammie reminded me of Rich. Here is a quote she had on her blog by him:

Christianity isn’t about being self-sacrificing - it’s about being self-forgetting. Forget yourself once in a while, and open your eyes. Focus on this big, beautiful world God has made. If you walk to school, learn to identify every plant that you pass on the way. At night, learn to identify every constellation in the sky. Get to know birds by their feathers , flight patterns and songs.

It’s a big world - and it reflects the character of God.

People who become self-centered lose contact with the outside world. They spend all their time and energy worrying about bad grades, or unfriendly friends, or mean parents. Forget about those things once in a while, and allow yourself to become involved in the lives of people who have equally bad situations. Open up and let other people matter to you.

When we take a bigger view of things, God will give us more grace and love for others. We’ll find ourselves responding to the needs and to the goodness; we’ll find ourselves angered by injustice to others.

And we’ll have a bigger appreciation of even small things, like the smell of a wet dog on a mucky day. Let go of yourself - and God will show you a whole new world.

(from Campus Life, June 1991)