moltmannized

I recently started reading Jürgen Moltmann's autobiography, A Broad Place. I told my congregation that he's one of my heroes--theologians can be heroes! I also said that when I read books by, and about, people like him, I sometimes have mixed feelings. Sometimes I'm humbled, and I ask myself questions like: what have I done with what I’ve been given? Am I making the most of my opportunities? Do I fully redeem the time? I'm sure I'm not the only one who asks these questions.

But that doesn't matter. Still, it’s not like I beat myself up. I’m not a perfectionist. I try to allow room for grace. I understand that Jesus loves me--just as I am. But it’s precisely because he loves me, because he accepts me, that I know I fall short. And I also know that he doesn’t want me to stay where I am.

As for Jürgen, I was introduced to him while at an Assemblies of God Bible college (a seemingly unlikely place). One of my professors confessed that he had been "Moltmannized." In this time of Advent, Moltmann's focus on hope seems an appropriate theme.