the narrow path

My friend bob blogged recently to answer the indictment that Christian people are simply looking for a "crutch" from their faith. Read it here.

I think his entry says it well. The more I read the gospels, the more i see that Jesus is not offering some sweet, consoling religion. He promises hardship and suffering for those who follow him. He promises that we will encounter the same kinds of obstacles that he did because we follow him. He tells us not be surprised if there are literal and figurative "crosses" in our own futures. He talks about having to break ranks with family and turn away from loved ones for the sake of following him.

Is there consolation in that? Actually there is, in an ultimate sense, that by clinging to him we will find something deeper and more lasting (though also harder) than anything this world can give. But it's not the mind-numbing "opiate" that some have talked about... those people have probably never read the words of Jesus.

So i put the question to all of you whether you are a Christ-follower or not, is your picture of this pilgrimage reflective of the actual words of Christ? To find out go ahead and read the book of Mark or Luke, see if it jives with the life you're living.

eating meat

I saw some great friends the other day, they are both vegetarians, but that is NOT what this post is about :)

Instead, the title refers to what i hear some Christians say from time to time. It's not uncommon to have a very seasoned Christ-follower say, "I NEED to GET fed!" or in critiquing their local church saying, "I need more MEAT" Ever heard it? Ever said it?

On the surface this can be quite innocent, even admirable. But even though I'm sure I've said something similar at times in my own life, the comments have always bothered me. I guess the reason is that saying those things is supposed to make you sound more "mature" or more "spiritual." You know, because while others crave things that tickle their ears, you are longing for depth...and that IS admirable. But maybe it's just the way it's said, maybe it's the way my flawed ears hear it, but these statements often sound horribly IMMATURE and unimpressive.

Maybe it's because as a grown man (or almost grown :) ), i don't go around whining to my wife that i NEED to get fed... sure I'll ask, "when is dinner ready?" but if I'm starving, or she's taking care of more pressing things, I'm fully capable of going to refrigerator or pantry and feeding myself. It makes me wonder, if you are a mature follower of Christ, shouldn't you be able to do the same?

I am NOT saying that Christ-following is a self-guided endeavor, there is a need for guidance from teachers and pastors and fellow followers. So I'm not bucking the idea that some Christ-followers can and should help feed others, but i guess I'm frustrated with the DEMAND to be fed. That just doesn't seem Christ-like at all.

Up until Monday this week, I fought against this "me-theology" in a lot of ways, but in an email I got this week from someone, I heard one new explanation that I think says it all.

This woman was referring to her desire to follow Christ with everything she is and she quoted Jesus when he said, "My MEAT is to do the will of Him who sent me" (please look here
for the full context). Jesus' disciples were urging him to take a break from the masses who were coming out to see him and feed himself (actual food), but look at what the MOST SPIRITUALLY MATURE person in the history of the world said... "my food (meat) is to do the will of Him who sent me."

The next time your feel hungry, instead of thinking the only option is to go to deeper bible studies, or listen to more substantive preaching, or to pray longer, try doing what Jesus did when he was hungry for meat... do the will of Him who sent you... and begin feeding another. (NOTE: please don't stop doing those other things Jesus fed himself in those ways too, especially in prayer!)

The more we try to fill ourselves up and satisfy our appetites through taking and demanding and insisting and asserting our preferences, the hungrier we'll feel. But when we take the deeper bible studies, the substantive preaching, the stronger prayer-life and begin to use them to pour ourselves out to feed another, strangely that's when we'll start to feel full.

Think about it the next time you are feeling hungry for more meat.

"Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it"-Matthew 10:39

why it had to be a cross

Thank God for the brilliant minds of the people in His Church. In sharing a message the other day on sexuality, a guy came up to me afterward and said, "you've answered a question for me that i've always struggled with" ...I was afraid of what he was going to say, given the topic of the weekend.

But then he said this, "i've always wondered, if God can do anything, why did he choose to send Jesus to a cross to die in order to reconcile us?"

I admit i've had that question too. I've heard a lot of answers given about why Jesus had to be a man, why he had to be the sacrifice, why it had to be on passover, etc. But all of this stuff makes it sound like the whole Bible is the nothing but an extravagant process of God painting himself into a corner and then thinking, "uh-oh how am i gonna get out of this one? oh, i know, i'll send my son!" That's always been weird for me. I don't think Jesus had to go to the cross and i don't think God had to send him, not in the way we often think about it at least because God is God he plays by his own rules. Besides all of the Old Testament sacrificial stuff, all the commandments, all of the standards that God sets and we fall short of, all of that stuff flows out of what Christ WOULD be/do rather than dictating what he had to do.... he's the thesis statement, they are the supporting points.

So at this point in the conversation, i'm riveted, because i didn't recall saying anything that would help answer this age-old question. And after a long and dramatic pause [maybe this guy should start speaking on weekends!] the man finished his statement, "God chose to go that way to show us what love really looks like."

I agree completely. God could've waved his hand and forgiven our sins, but that would not have let us see how serious God is about his love for us. It wouldn't let us see how destructive our sins are to our relationship with him. And it wouldn't give US the example of what real love looks like.

Real love is sacrifice, pouring yourself out for the sake of another, laying down your life. The cross is not the answer to some math problem that God struggled with for centuries, it's the stuff of Shakespeare or great poetry. It's a stunning display of God's over-the-top love that he had been building up to for centuries. It's also a very specific measuring-stick for any of us who desire to be lovers.

please, the next time you see a cross, don't think about all the intricacies of the atonement, not first at least. First, please think about how much God must love us to do something so cruel, yet beautiful.