Mature Dependence

Cheesy image? Yes, maybe. (I was looking for something to go with what I wanted to get at below.) You deserve better. I realize this...Anyway, I wanted to make a quick post today and would ask for your interaction on it below (if you'd like).

Yesterday we mentioned that everyone has a set of beliefs that helps them make sense of the world around them. This set of beliefs, commonly called a worldview, helps individuals answer some of the "big questions" in life (i.e., Is there a God?, Why do people suffer?, What happens to us when we die?, Will the Cardinals win the Series this year?). All of these are very important and the answers to them help us to "live" in the world around us (okay, maybe not the last one, but even that is highly debatable).

So, we mentioned yesterday that Jesus himself had a worldview, a way of making sense of reality. Though I doubt it was as corny as the "blue-green eyeball", his worldview showed us something about who he thought God was (or was like). I had never really thought about this before. It challenges me, because as someone who claims to follow Jesus, I don't know if my "way of seeing things" squares all that well with Jesus'; not the least of which is my steely stubbornness to see God as a Father. I am sure that it is my arrogance that gets in the way: I'd rather be self-sufficient than see myself as a "beggar." No, "being in need" wouldn't be half as bad as having to admit and deal with the fact that I am in need. 

For those who read this blog that claim to follow Jesus, how do we mature in our dependence? 

For those who read this blog and don't follow Jesus, is this a fundamental problem with Christianity--that it promotes neediness and illustrates that "religion is a crutch"? 

I'd love your thoughts...

-Ryan