Friday, March 02, 2007

God like Jazz

Just wanted to remember one of my favourite opening lines of a book.

"I never liked jazz music because jazz music doesn’t resolve. But I was outside the Baghdad Theatre one night when I saw a man playing the saxophone. I stood there for fifteen minutes and he never opened his eyes.

After that I liked jazz music.

Sometimes you have to watch somebody love something before you can love it yourself.
It is as if they are showing you the way.

I used to not like God because God didn’t resolve. But that was before any of this happened."

Donald Miller, Blue Like Jazz

I am pretty fond of it because that's how I got lured into this whole God business as well - truthfully, it wasn't the intellectual arguments nor the precious words of some preacher.

I saw people in love with Him. And I fell for Him too.

3 comments:

ah-yun said...

Some of my friends recommended this book. When I read the paragraph you quoted, I really liked it, though I have always loved Jazz (& Blues). "Sounds like a good book I thought." I really tried to read it... but I couldn't... that quote probably the best part of the book.

Did you enjoy it?

neonangel said...

i was quite impressed by how readable it was and yet how much depth Miller managed to work in without resorting to obscure language and terminology. I like his accessibility and light handed touch - one of the rare books that I felt I could actually lend to a non-Christian without them feeling it was all hocus pocus.

i enjoyed Blue Like Jazz as well as his other book Looking for God Knows What. Read his earlier stuff but it was not as refined. :)

ah-yun said...

I agree he has a way of speaking non-Christian language. I think can't relate to his intended audience so I actually find it quite boring.