Author: John Ortberg
Info: Copyright 2001: Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan.
Rating (on a scale of 1-4 stars): ✮✮✮✮
Where Acquired: Library checkout that turned into a Kindle purchase.
Category: Impulse reading. At work, our team is participating in a Bible study based on this book. Though the book wasn't required, I wanted to read it.
Synopsis: God has called all of us to use our gifts and talents to expand His kingdom and reveal His love to those who don't yet know Him. As he expounds on the story of Peter walking on the water in Matthew 14:25-32, Ortberg takes a point-by-point comparison of Peter's process of letting go of fear to our call to step into our calling.
Favorite Quotes:
Matthew is not glorifying risk-taking for its own sake. Jesus is not looking for bungee jumping, hang-gliding, day-trading, tornado-chasing Pinto drivers. Water-walking is not something Peter does for recreational purposes. This is not a story about extreme sports. It’s about extreme discipleship. - Location 231
Your boat is whatever represents safety and security to you apart from God himself. Your boat is whatever you are tempted to put your trust in, especially when life gets a little stormy. Your boat is whatever keeps you so comfortable that you don’t want to give it up even if it’s keeping you from joining Jesus on the waves. Your boat is whatever pulls you away from the high adventure of extreme discipleship. - Location 260
Knowing when to get out of the boat and take a risk does not only demand courage; it also demands the wisdom to ask the right questions, the discernment to recognize the voice of the Master, and the patience to wait for his command. - Location 953
Arthur Miller puts if like this:
It is wrong, it is sin, to accept or remain in a position that you know is a mismatch for you. Perhaps that’s a form of sin you’ve never even considered—the sin of staying in the wrong job. But God did not place you on this earth to waste away your years in labor that does not employ his design or purpose for your life, no matter how much you may be getting paid for it. - Location 1180
The answers have centered on a few themes: —Resilient people continually seek to reassert some command and control over their destiny rather than seeing themselves as passive victims. —Resilient people have a larger than usual capacity for what might be called moral courage—for refusing to betray their values. —Resilient people find purpose and meaning in their suffering. - Location 1665
I think God says “fear not” so often because fear is the number one reason human beings are tempted to avoid doing what God asks them to do. - Location 2030
The Positive:
- I found Ortberg's take on this particular Scripture passage very creative.
- The author's dry humor was enjoyable.
- This volume is loaded with encouragement and practical examples.
- Questions that guide the reader in analyzing his situation and taking definitive steps towards fulfilling his calling are included.
- I appreciate the fact that Ortberg doesn't shame the reader into dropping everything and diving headfirst into what he believes is his calling. He wisely advises testing the waters to make sure and gradually stepping out.
The Negative:
- The Kindle edition doesn't have real page numbers.
- The author doesn't do a good job of distinguishing between true fear and a healthy respect for something or someone. Ortberg talks about the damaging affects of fear, yet says that fear is good. He is mixing true paralyzing fear with necessary caution of danger. This could be very confusing the reader.
- Ortberg asserts that one's vocation and calling are mutually exclusive. While he is careful to point out that one's calling is from God and one's career can be chosen apart from God's calling, the author assumes that this is always the case. That is not true. Not only in my own life, but the examples presented in this volume would indicate the contrary.
This book, along with the study materials, has proven to be very valuable in this stage of my life. Though the self-analysis was difficult, I am pleased it was an integral part of the process presented in the text. I would recommend this book to anyone who is either searching for purpose and meaning in life, or who needs encouragement in continuing to walk in his calling.
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