Remembering Eugene Peterson

Like so many others, my heart has been touched as I’ve read accounts of Eugene Peterson’s last days, final words and spiritual influence.

I appreciate his contributions to Christendom, of course—the 85-year-old retired pastor was the bestselling author of The Message Bible and A Long Obedience in the Same Direction, among many other notable titles.

But the fact that he died shortly after entering hospice care for “advanced and progressing” heart failure and dementia hits much closer to home for me. The way his son Eric described Peterson’s decline doesn’t speak to me merely as someone who is vaguely familiar with his well-known father, but also as a daughter who understands how hard it is to watch a once-vibrant parent go down the sad road of dementia.

A few months ago, I quoted Peterson in a blog post titled “When You’re Not on Fire for Jesus.” The words I included—about worship being an act that develops feelings for God (not the other way around)—appear near the beginning of A Long Obedience.

Ironically, I own this book but had never read it. I pulled the quote from a church bulletin where it was printed at the top of a sermon outline.

But when my blogger friend Michele commented that she had underlined part of the quote I shared in her copy of A Long Obedience to the point where she was “likely to wear through the paper,” I decided it was time I checked the book out for myself.

I couldn’t find my copy, so I requested it from my local library. When it finally came—from a library in San Antonio, of all places—I began a slow and deliberate journey with Peterson through the Psalms of Ascent.

I had recently read Mere Christianity for the first time, and my mind was hungry for another book that emphasized spiritual disciplines and scriptural truths rather than the personal experiences and feelings of the author. A Long Obedience provided exactly that.

It’s amazing to think that this work—subtitled “Discipleship in an Instant Society”—was originally published in 1980, considering how relevant it is to our culture today. I obviously couldn’t mark up the library book, so I took to posting my favorite bits of wisdom and perspective on Twitter.

• From the chapter titled “Providence” (Psalm 121):

“Do you think the way to tell the story of the Christian journey is to describe its trials and tribulations? It is not. It is to name and to describe the God who preserves, accompanies and rules us.”

• On security, or how “God Encircles His People” (Psalm 125):

“My feelings are important for many things. … They keep me aware of much that is true and real. But they tell me next to nothing about God or my relation to God. My security comes from who God is, not from how I feel.”

• The amazing fact that “God sticks with us” (Psalm 129):

“The central reality for Christians is the personal, unalterable, persevering commitment God makes to us. Perseverance is not the result of our determination, it is the result of God’s faithfulness.”

• Quoting Charles Spurgeon in the chapter about humility (Psalm 131):

“It is a blessed mark of growth out of spiritual infancy when we can forgo the joys which once appeared to be essential, and can find our solace in him who denies them to us.”

• Powerful perspective on feelings (Psalm 134):

“Humphrey Bogart once defined a professional as a person who ‘did a better job when he didn’t feel like it.’ That goes for a Christian too. Feelings don’t run the show. There is a reality deeper than our feelings. Live by that.”

I reached the final page of A Long Obedience right around the library’s non-renewable due date. I was sad to part with it; it was one of those books that almost seem like a good friend by the time you’re done with it.

Then yesterday, after learning of Peterson’s death, I looked on my bookshelf and there it was—right in front of me. I don’t know how I missed it before, but I’m looking forward to reading it again, free this time to highlight and underline to my heart’s content.

• • • 

In light of the health issues that preceded his death, I’m thankful that Eugene Peterson is at home in heaven now, fully alive and completely restored in every way. In honor of his life and work, please feel free to share a book title, quote or passage from The Message that is meaningful to you.

♥ Lois

P.S. I’m linking up this week with Let’s Have Coffee, #TellHisStory, Faith on Fire, Faith ‘n Friends and Grace & Truth.