On My Shelf helps you get to know various writers through a behind-the-scenes glimpse into their lives as readers. I talked with Lauren Chandler about what’s on her nightstand, what she’s learning in her walk with Jesus, and the books that have shaped her.
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What are you learning about life and following Jesus?
Obedience brings joy. When Matt and I were newlyweds, a sweet young couple treated us to lunch at a restaurant in our college town. Their preschool-aged daughter was precious and so full of life. At one point during the meal, she deliberately disobeyed her parents. Matt and I sat awkwardly, feeling for the daughter but also understanding the love those parents had for her to not let her get away with it. The wife gently took her daughter to the restroom. When they returned, the mother looked into her daughter’s eyes and said, “Obedience brings . . .” The daughter finished her sentence: “joy.” That small interaction has been forever seared on my heart.
I’ve been in Genesis 2 this week and marveled at God’s great care in creating and ordering the world. Jen Wilkin points out in her study of Genesis that, from the beginning, God has been a God who separates. He separated light from darkness, the waters above from the waters below, day from night, and so on. He calls his people out from the other cultures and customs to be holy as he is holy. I am so grateful that Christ’s holiness makes me holy. I know all my righteous acts are but filthy rags in God’s presence (Isa. 64:6). Still, he calls us, as followers of Christ, to be holy. To stand in stark contrast to the surrounding culture not by wearing different clothes or shutting ourselves into communes, but by trusting he knows what’s best for us—by freely obeying him. Our culture screams, “Figure out what’s best for you and do it.” And so many in our culture are miserable. But joy? It comes from obedience. Not a white-knuckled self-righteousness, but a life surrendered to Christ. A life that says, “I trust you, God, because you made everything, you made me, and you know how to squeeze the greatest amount of joy out of life!”
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