Book: Rich Mullins an Arrow Pointing to Heaven

Anyone who knows me even somewhat well will know what a big fan I am of Rich Mullins and his music. I was glad for the opportunity to read this book (Thanks Bob!), a biography of Mullins' life which tragically ended in a car accident in 1997. It gave me a lot of insight into how Rich's views of God and life were as honest as the songs that he wrote. And I now have a much richer picture into what Rich was thinking, feeling, struggling with, when he wrote specific songs like Step by Step, Boy Like Me, and Hold Me Jesus. These songs now hold a much deeper meaning to me, now that I know about the tears and the joy behind each one.

I think the one thing that I'll remember the most from this book is Rich's humility. Not the secular kind of humilty where you don't think much of yourself, but the godly kind of humility where you don't think of yourself much. He was very honest about himself with his friends and loved ones (even regularly confessing sins and temptations to them), because he felt that being honest is what makes us holy, not pretending to be something that we aren't. And we aren't perfect, but we are sinful, imperfect human beings. And I admire how he could and did love everyone, regardless of class or race or ability, without a hint of judgment, being freed from a censurious heart, since his honesty taught him long ago that he really was no better than anyone else, and he had just as complete a need for God's grace as the next man. Pride is very ugly, especially from God's perspective, and I myself continue to struggle to put it to death, and so perhaps that is why seeing Rich's humility in action resonated so much with me.