What If Jesus Meant All That Stuff?
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My response:
In the above article written for Esquire, Shane Claiborne begins by addressing “all my non-believing, sort-of-believing, and used-to-believing friends: I feel like I should begin with a confession. I am sorry that so often the biggest obstacle to God has been Christians.”
Oh ouch. That clicked down deep in my soul.
I am sorry. There is a deep sadness in my soul when I hear the statistics. Have you seen all the studies? Not just the info in this particular article, but have you seen it? I hear the questions like “why aren’t our churches growing?” or “where are our young people?”. It is humiliating to me to hear the answers, based on the research, to those and other similar questions.
Many folks only see the judgmental hypocrisy, anger, bitterness and rage coming from Christians. That literally breaks my heart.
God is all about love, grace and mercy, yet in many cases, those who walk behind the banner of Christianity are the very ones who are incapable of showing unconditional love, overflowing grace or ever- flowing mercy. We have taken Jesus and made him someone he is not.
I guess Shane makes a lot of really interesting points when he talks about those who Jesus spent most of his time with. He even talks about the use of dirt throughout the Bible, yet those who walk behind the banner of Christianity do not want to get dirty. We’ve read it, we’ve heard it, we know all about it. But why aren’t we following His lead?
What about those in prison? What about those who are homeless? What about the widows and orphans? What about the prostitutes? What about the poor and the sick?
This hurt and pain I feel driving me to ask some difficult questions of myself. I’ve had more interesting conversations with Jesus over recent months, weeks and days but I have found myself on my knees pleading “What now, Jesus? What can I do?” I just keep asking and asking.
And he answers.
But his answers aren’t what I’ve been told they would be. Jesus doesn’t get in my face and point his crooked finger of condemnation, nor does he heap judgment on my head. Jesus simply invites me to come, stay by his side, rest and learn.
“Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you'll recover your life. I'll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me—watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won't lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you'll learn to live freely and lightly." Matthew 11:28-32
You can say what you will of me, but you need to know this: I love God with all my heart.
Years ago, I heard this quote and I have been haunted by it ever since:
“The single greatest cause of atheism in the world today is Christians, who acknowledge Jesus with their lips, then walk out the door, and deny Him by their lifestyle. That is what an unbelieving world simply finds unbelievable” Brennan Manning
Oh God what am showing those who are watching? And please don’t use this as your opportunity to judge me, think about yourself and ask this of yourself. People are watching, what are you showing them?
Is all we see hypocritical judgment? Can we find love- true, pure, unconditional love in ourselves?
When Jesus asked me if I loved him, my answer is yes. When he asked me if I loved his children, my answer is yes. I hold no animosity or hatred for anyone. I do, however, hold a deep sadness in my soul.
When we are incapable of showing love, grace and mercy to one another, we are incapable of being authentic followers of Jesus. If you cannot love someone because they don’t agree with you or don’t act the way you think they should—you are wrong. If you cannot extend mercy to someone because you feel they need to learn their lesson—you are wrong. And if you cannot stack grace on someone who doesn’t deserve it—you are wrong.
I don’t deserve forgiveness. I don’t deserve the grace or mercy or love that Jesus has given me. I don’t deserve anything, but I have been given much. Jesus forgives, he loves and teaches me how to love and be merciful and show grace. I am a work in progress, as are you. None of us have arrived; we are still humans and “to err is human”.
There is so much wrong in the world today. There is so much wrong among those who walk behind the banner of Christianity. But I’d like to call them out from behind the banner… I’d like to invite you who claim to follow Jesus, to step forward and really follow. (And you might not want to wear your Sunday best; we’re going to get dirty.)
My prayer:
Jesus, teach me more about peace, patience, kindness, joy, love, and goodness. Please don’t give up on me, Jesus. Thank you for allowing me to try and fail. Thank you for allowing me to stumble and fall. Thank you for picking me up and dusting me off. Thank you for sharing the story of the Good Samaritan with me when I was a 5 yr old. I remember the sadness in my little girl heart when they kept walking by the man that was hurt. I didn’t understand why they did that! Oh Jesus, don’t let me walk by. Don’t let me ignore! Please God, don’t let me ignore my brothers and sisters who are hurting. Don’t let me walk by the stranger who has been beaten and left for dead. And never allow me to let my pain keep me from serving others. Oh Father God, wash me in the water of your mercy, brimming with grace. Clean my heart, my mind with streams of living water—wash my eyes so I can see what you would have me to see! Bring me to life! I need you now. Please have mercy on me. Teach me, train me—I want to be like you. Help me to focus. Fix my eyes on you, Jesus. I feel so alone. Please don’t give up on me. Father God, I know you have something beautiful for my life. I know it! Consume me like a fire. I don’t want to be scared, take away my fear, take away my pride, heal the pain. Open my eyes and my heart. Teach me about your freedom so I can be an authentic example. Flow through me, guide me, and direct my feet, my mouth, my heart, my hands, my eyes, my mind… I am surrendered. This life is Yours. Who can I love today? Show me who needs to know or peace, patience, kindness, joy, love, and goodness. Open my eyes and my heart… don’t let me walk by. And Jesus, thanks for being patient with me. Thank you for loving all the unlovable things about me. Today, break my heart for what breaks your.
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