Eugene Peterson

Finding My Place in the Story

/ Dennis Griffith / Leave a comment

The Bible comes to us in various forms of literature: history, poetry, and letters, just to name a few. But essentially, the Bible tells one epic story from beginning to end, using all the various genres.

Eugene Peterson, writing the introduction to Matthew in The Message, said:

“Every day we wake up in the middle of something that is already going on, that has been going on for a long time, genealogy and geology, history and culture, the cosmos – God. We are neither accidental nor incidental to the story. From it we get orientation, briefing, background, reassurance. Lacking such a context, we are in danger of seeing Jesus as a mere diversion from the concerns announced in the newspapers. Nothing could be further from the truth.”

The challenge is to find myself and my place in God’s great story of Redemption and Restoration.

The Ways & Means of Following Jesus

/ Dennis Griffith / Leave a comment

Eugene Peterson, in his book, The Jesus Way, wrote:

Following Jesus necessarily means getting his ways and means into our everyday lives. It is not enough simply to recognize and approve his ways and get started in the right direction. Jesus’ ways are meant to be embraced and assimilated into our habits. This takes place only as we pray our following of him. It cannot be imposed from without, cannot be copied. It must be shaped from within. This shaping takes place in prayer. The practice of prayer is the primary way that Jesus’ way comes to permeate our entire lives so that we walk spontaneously and speak rhythmically in the fluidity and fluency of holiness.

Too Much Religion

/ Dennis Griffith / Leave a comment

Eugene Peterson, in the Introduction to the book of Hebrews in his book The Message, writes:

“It seems odd to have to say so, but too much religion is a bad thing. We can’t get too much of God, can’t get too much faith and obedience, can’t get too much love and worship. But religion – the well intentioned efforts we make to ‘get it all together’ for God – can very well get in the way of what God is doing for us. The main & central action is everywhere, and always what God has done, is doing and will do for us. Jesus is the revelation of that action”.