Demands and Requirements

Hi there,

I wanted to share one of my favorite excerpts from one of my most loved authors, Annie Dillard. I've been reflecting on this passage for the past week, and I've gained a lot of insight about myself when reading this in parallel with the first few chapters of Ephesians.

Enjoy.

Annie Dillard, Teaching a Stone to Talk:

God does not demand that we give up our personal dignity,

that we throw in our lot with random people, that we lose

ourselves and turn from all that is not him. God needs noth-

ing, asks nothing, and demands nothing, like the stars. It is a

life with God which demands these things.

Experience has taught the race that if knowledge of God

is the end, then these habits of life are not the means but the

condition in which the means operate. You do not have to do

these things; not at all. God does not, I regret to report, give

a hoot. You do not have to do these things — unless you want

to know God. They work on you, not on him.

You do not have to sit outside in the dark. If, however,

you want to look at the stars, you will fnd that darkness is

necessary. But the stars neither require nor demand it.

::The re-posting of this passage is not with the intent of infringe copyright, but rather, to educate those willing to read it. ::