Magnificent Obsession

I've been confusing two books in my mind and in a couple conversations. "The Magnificent Obsession" is not the story of Peter Marshall, the senate chaplain. His biography is "A Man Called Peter" which is a tremendous read.

"Magnificent Obsession" is about a Doctor who was transformed by the Bible. NOT by the God of the Bible, but by the Sermon on the Mount. He read the beatitudes and realized that they summed up "religion." He eschewed church, the singing of songs, and prayer, but believed the beatitudes were the key to life. This belief remade him; he became truly a great man (just not an eternally great man).

I understand his belief, though. I recently had one of the most moving times of devotion in my life. I'm reading only the red letter text; the words of Jesus, himself. God opened the doors of understanding as I read the Sermon on the Mount, and more specifically, the beatitudes. Jesus presents the formula of prayer later in the SotM, and the formula of living a Christian life in the beatitudes.

I do firmly believe that salvation is through acceptance of Christ crucified in my place, so unlike the doctor in the book, worship, thanksgiving and prayer are an outgrowth of faith and must be observed for the power of God to be released in your life, but take a fresh look at the "blessed are..." and see them for the keys to life they are. The rest of the SotM maps back to the beatitudes. It's an amazing devotional. Check it out.