TMIWTB: Who & Why

I am reading John Ortberg’s new book “The Me I Want To Be” (TMIWTB) — it is a terrible title and fantastic book!

Some notable quotes from chapter 1, “Learn Why God Made You”:

– “Life is not about any particular achievement or experience. The most important task of your life is not what you do, but who you become.”

– “You are not your handiwork; your life is not your project. Your life is GOD’s project. God thought you up, and he knows what you were intended to be. He has many good works for you to do, but they are not the kind of ‘to do’ lists we give spouses or employees. They are signposts to your true self.”

– “As God helps you grow, you will change, but you will always be you. An acorn can grow into an oak tree, but it cannot become a rose bush. It can be a healthy oak or a stunted oak — but it won’y be a shrub. You will always be you — a growing, healthy you or a languishing you — but God did not create you to be anybody else. He pre-wired your temperament. He determined your natural gifts and talents. He made you to feel certain passions and desires. He planned your body and mind. Your uniqueness is God-designed.”

– “God doesn’t make anything and then decide to throw it away. He creates, and then, if there is a problem, he rescues.”

– “Here is the good news: When you flourish, you become more you. You become more that person God had in mind when he thought you up. You don’t just become holier. You become you-ier.”

– “God wants to redeem you, not exchange you.”

– “It’s humbling that I cannot be anything I want. I don’t get to create myself. I accept myself as God’s gift to me and accept becoming that person as God’s task set before me.”

Great stuff so far… I am very excited about this book.