O-2 PEOPLE FILES
- Jake Owensby -
jake owensby
Jake Owensby
The Bible teaches us that the wise don’t merely observe the world around them and figure out its patterns all on their own. Instead, they spend a lifetime connecting with the very source of the creation’s deep, governing algorithm. Their lives are shaped by the habitual practices of worship, prayer, study, works of mercy, and the pursuit of justice. These practices open us to God’s presence in our everyday lives.
Jesus is wisdom incarnate. Accepting Jesus as our Lord means that we turn to him to teach us how to navigate our often messy, confusing life. As Proverbs instructs us, we don’t get this life thing right by relying solely on our own cleverness and wit. We need a mentor. (Proverbs 3:5-6)
In other words, Jesus shows us how to live. What he teaches us in the Sermon on the Mount and in his many parables and by his personal example may upend some of our fiercely-held assumptions or rein in some of our strongest impulses. But when we recognize that we need a mentor to be fully human—to live into being the image of God we were created to be—we’re admitting that there’s much that we do not know and more than a few things that we’ve gotten wrong along the way. God knows that we’re a work in progress. That’s why repentance is one of Christianity’s traditional practices. We need to admit our missteps and shortsightedness to ourselves over and over. --Jake Owensby; Ministry Matters; A Jesus Shaped Life 8.22.23
Jesus is wisdom incarnate. Accepting Jesus as our Lord means that we turn to him to teach us how to navigate our often messy, confusing life. As Proverbs instructs us, we don’t get this life thing right by relying solely on our own cleverness and wit. We need a mentor. (Proverbs 3:5-6)
In other words, Jesus shows us how to live. What he teaches us in the Sermon on the Mount and in his many parables and by his personal example may upend some of our fiercely-held assumptions or rein in some of our strongest impulses. But when we recognize that we need a mentor to be fully human—to live into being the image of God we were created to be—we’re admitting that there’s much that we do not know and more than a few things that we’ve gotten wrong along the way. God knows that we’re a work in progress. That’s why repentance is one of Christianity’s traditional practices. We need to admit our missteps and shortsightedness to ourselves over and over. --Jake Owensby; Ministry Matters; A Jesus Shaped Life 8.22.23