Due to the allowance of a particularly revolutionary and yet not so revolutionary book in my house (which I brought in myself, so no excuses here) I'm decided to reorient my personal time continuum with the divisions "BHA" and "AHA," or, "Before Hippie Amy" and "After Hippie Amy." Not because I recycle a lot more or try to hang dry my clothes as much as possible or wear dreads (cuz I don't actually wear dreads) but because I'm thinking a lot more about living in a commune these days, or at least something that looks more like a commune. What I mean is a commune that looks more like an Acts church where we share everything. Doesn't that make so much sense--economically, relationally, spiritually?
This irresistible book is called the Irresistible Revolution by Shane Claiborne. It took Shane's words to help me understand certain areas of the Bible that I've been ignoring. Maybe it's better to say I chose not to highlight those areas. I'd been hearing rave reviews for awhile, but the idea of reading it myself unnerved me a little. I knew it would be convicting and life changing. And it was true. And I'm not even finished with it yet.
Mostly it has me asking lot's of questions. Like, how can I implement Biblical ideas of communal sharing practically while living in a small town of northern California in the twenty-first century? Practically, what does that look like? I don't think I could take it so far as to share a house with people. Maybe if I was single, but not so much as a married person. But there are other ideas. Can it mean sharing household items with people in your neighborhood? Having a co-op type "store" in your church where people could leave things and borrow things? Forming a babysitting service and helping neighbors around the house with handyman stuff? Probably all of the above and whatever else God's blessed us with--including possessions, money, and time. Time. Now that's a challenge.
I guess what I'm asking is how can I be more generous? That'll be my new definition of hippie.
2 comments:
i met an affluent american woman in thailand whom i will never forget. we were chatting about my life in kolkata and she mentioned that she read that book...
jo - "what did you think?"
woman - "it was amazing."
jo - "so, did it change anything?"
woman - "well... he is amazing and what his community is doing is amazing and so beautiful, but... it's just so extreme... it's just not something i could do."
i walked away that day sad, so sad.
the cry of irresistible revolution is not, "be like shane claibourne" ... it is, who is God calling me to be today and what is he calling me to do in light of taking jesus at his words for once?
i love that you see that amy, and i pray that that woman will one day see it too.
here's to our generous God, may we have and live a bit more of His heart.
Hi Ames! I loved this post! We should chat soon. I actually just moved into a Christian community in Lincoln...yeah, i can't believe it either. I'm very excited to see where this will take me. As far as Christian communal living goes, I think we're a little different in that I'm the only single person in the house. So far so good, though. Maybe you and Jon should come to NE and check it out! We have room for guests!
~Grace
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