Scary Jesus

I’ve never been a huge fan of the label “Jesus Freak”. The title implies that I could be so crazy about Jesus that I scare people. Is this what Jesus wants? Some buddies of mine and I went to one of those walk through haunted houses one time when I was in college. We walked in with major swagger, like nothing could shake us. After a calm stroll through the first hallway things changed when everything went black. For the rest of the time we ran through the dark maze delirious. We were officially freaked.

As Christians should our lives freak people out? Scare them away? Or, turn them off to the message of Jesus?

I think many of us who follow Jesus now feel relieved because you don’t have this reputation and identity. But the harder question to answer is: do our lives turn people towards a relationship with Jesus, at all?

There actually shouldn’t be any Christian radicals. There shouldn’t be any “Jesus Freaks”. But, if we call ourselves Christians our lives should be radically different. There’s an author named Dallas Willard who has really shaped my perspective on the Christian life. He writes, “The disciple of Christ desires above all else to be like Him.” The ultimate goal of a Christian is to do what Jesus did and said. And He did some pretty radical things.

For instance, Jesus tells those who follow Him in Luke 6:27, “Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you.” This contradicts everything our culture stands for. Our culture tells us to get revenge, withhold forgiveness, and reject those who reject you. But this isn’t the way of Jesus.

The way of Jesus is counter-cultural. The way of Jesus doesn’t make sense to the world. The way of Jesus is radical. If we actually did what Jesus commanded us to do, would people notice?

Who hates you? Who do you hate?

Love them, do good to them, bless them, and pray for them!

This is the way of Jesus. This way is radical. And when we desire to be like Him, our friends, enemies, and the world will notice and encounter Jesus.

Mindless Banter

Has technology in your life ever reversed?

I was introduced to this question and the idea behind it a couple weeks ago while reading a book about how technology shapes our faith. Basically, can the technology we use to assist and amplify our five sense ever reverse on us leading to unintended consequences? For instance, the cell phone is an extension of our ear enabling us to connect and communicate with anyone anytime. The cell phone can reverse on us when we are always available all the time; we allow the cell phone to interrupt meals with friends, face to face conversations, and family time.

The idea really hit me between my mind when the writer took the question a little farther, “What would it look like for the book you’re reading right now to reverse?” This question made me feel like I was choking on the pages.

I’m an avid reader, but this question forced me to ask myself, “why do I read?”

I don’t read many fictional books, so, for the most part the entertainment factor was eliminated.

I don’t read from multiple genres, so, a broad literary perspective isn’t it either.

After I put the book down, I continued to choke on the question. A book will reverse on me when I read it to be told what to do and how to think. Instead of using my mind to process the material and decide for myself, I let books do my thinking for me.

Jesus said that the greatest of all commands to live by is to love God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength. As a guy I always understood loving God with your mind to mean pure and lust free thoughts. I think that is part of it, but that’s not the extent. Are we also using our minds to understand, contemplate, and decide things about life, relationships, and God?

We make good use of our brains. But, how often is our usage passive, and how much is active? How much of the reading that I take in with my eyes do I process thoughtfully, and how much do I receive without question?

Do I love God with my mind when I take a mental vacation?

How many of us have been given creative, strategic, musical, logical, insightful, or empathetic minds and refuse to use them because it is tiring, taxing, or too challenging?

I’ve come to realize that I have a habit of giving my mind a break when I’m praying. When I pray, “God, thank you for this day,” am I really conscious of my gratitude for the day I’m praying about? Would we think, act, and live differently if we were thoughtfully thankful for our days?

Would we write FML in our Facebook statuses every time something didn’t go our way? Didn’t fit into our plans? Didn’t make us happy?

Romans 12:2 explains that our thoughts influence our choices, and ultimately our choices influence the outcome of our lives. So what happens when we don’t use our minds? Do we become the product of other’s thoughts and opinions? So, who are we becoming because we’ve checked our brains at the door?

Are we doing certain things because we’ve never actually thought about it, we just accepted someone’s opinion?

How many of us are in a dangerous spot because we’re Christians who have given no thought to what we believe?

How many of us aren’t Christians because we’ve embraced the opinions of others instead of using our God-given brains to discover the truth?

But that’s just my opinion.

:: The French Pressed Four ::

: Anniversary in Charleston, SC :: Sleeping in, Poe’s Tavern, and Hyman’s Seafood.

:: Ryan Carson :: It was your birthday!

::: Martin Luther :: Discovering grace forces you to stand for truth.

:::: Throw it on the ground! :: I’m an adult! Mannnnn.