Even If i Walk Alone

Instructing and encouraging you to live your life as a disciple of Jesus

Revolting Beauty

Thankfulness and the American Orphan

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To most of us in America, Thanksgiving Day is all about three things: turkey, football and a day off. Quite honestly, I’m a big fan of all of those things. Unfortunately there are many for whom this day has no meaning. They have lost hope amid the struggles and trials of our modern society. They have become too bitter to be thankful for anything; they are simply in need. For those of us with Christ in our lives, we have something to give. We have hope for the future, and we have love. These gifts are not to be hoarded; they are to be given away.

I’ve been reading the book “Street Lives: An Oral History of Homeless Americans” recently. It’s a collection of firsthand accounts of living on the street. It is truly heartbreaking to read their stories. While the language and subject matter can be a bit rough at times, I encourage you to read this book or books like it. We are so isolated in our comfortable homes and neighborhoods. Few of us know what true hunger feels like. Even fewer know what it’s like to have no bed, no home and no hope. While there are many shelters that do a good work, there are far more that are abusive and even perpetuate the mindset that keeps people living in despair. The number of children and veterans among the population of the homeless is staggering. Many of the homeless have no family remaining, no place to turn for help and no one to love them. They are truly the orphans of America, regardless of their age.

As followers of Jesus we are called to care for the orphans. What are we doing to help? For most of us, helping involves giving to shelters and inner city ministries, and probably buying some groceries or meals for those in need. This is necessary and admirable, but it does not go far enough. Food for the belly is obviously important, but food for the soul is paramount. We need to feed more than their stomachs. We need to feed their hearts, their minds, and their self worth. We need to clothe them not only with blankets and coats, but with love. What can you do to help? What can I do? We must come together and do something about this crisis. Why? The answer is simply because Jesus said to do so; that is enough. We who choose to follow Christ have an obligation to do the things He did. As the orphans in need of love cry out to us, they convict us of that which we are not doing. None of us can end homelessness by ourselves. We can, however, love one person. Together we can solve the problem in our cities by determining that we will not tolerate the way homeless orphans are treated.

The love of God provides the love, strength and hope that we all need. There is enough for us to bask in and still have plenty in reserve to give away. I am thankful for the love of Christ. I am thankful that He saved me. I am thankful that I am not an orphan. Yet I am thankful for the orphans all around us, for they are opportunities to share the immeasurable love of Christ. We must put aside our fear, our prejudices and our preconceived notions; it’s time to reach out and love the orphans all around us. Put your arms around someone in need today, and rejoice in the opportunity to be able to do so. Be thankful for all you have, and then give others something to be thankful for as well.

The Wild, Wild West

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Most readers of this blog reside in Western cultures, cultures that find Christianity on the decline.   This is a driving factor in our recent posts promoting leaving Christianity for a life of following Christ.  Christianity has ceded to the pressures of the secular world, it has been compromised.  Conversely, following the way of Jesus permits no compromise.  So before continuing on in your life, you must make a decision.  Will you continue to live the life of a traditional western Christian or will you instead choose the radical, love infused way of following Jesus?

Perhaps you are uneasy with a call to turn from Christianity, but take a look at what modern Christianity typically represents:  right wing conservative politics, bitter infighting, large buildings that drive most churches into large debt, comfortable homes in the suburbs, racial division along the lines of worship preference, a hierarchical view of sin (for example the belief that homosexuality is worse than lying, or that murder is more sinful than pride).  I could go on for the entire length of this post, but the list is already sickening enough.  Which items in the previous list (and feel free to add your own) look like the way in which Jesus lived?  Which of these traits demonstrate the love of Jesus?  I hope you begin to see my point about modern, Western Christianity.  It is quite possibly too late to try and redefine the term ‘Christianity’.  Thus, for those of us serious about truly following the way of Jesus, in loving the way Jesus did, we need a new term to help define our mission.  I submit that we bring back the original term for Christians, that of “followers of the Way”.

We need to return to living in community with one another, caring for one another and sharing in the needs (physical, emotional, financial) of one another.  True community is incredibly messy.  It is life altering; it requires us to live outside of our comfort zones and in deference to one another.  We need to say ‘no’ to expensive building projects so those seeking Jesus might be better entertained or more comfortable.  If someone is choosing between Heaven and Hell, do you really think it matters in the slightest whether or not they are making that choice in an air conditioned padded seat or on a park bench?  The modern church has totally lost its bearings and understanding of what is truly important to God, what we as church were really called to do.

No sin is greater than another in the eyes of God, and we are all guilty without the blood and love of Christ.  We need to get over our judgment of others; we need to cross so-called “racial lines” to engage with those of different cultural backgrounds than our own.  We need to share Christ by showing love to those in our neighborhoods and communities.  We don’t need another mega church; we all are already part of the one church, the body of Christ.  Instead of larger places of worship, we need smaller pockets of community.  One church building will never change the world, but the Church can and will if we are simply following the Way!

What’s your take away, what do you do now?  How is it you will choose to live?  Will you go back to your daily life and comfortable church buildings?  Or instead will you take the first steps of turning your neighborhood into a community of followers of the Way?  Will you take the first step in redefining what you will do with Jesus?  Do you want traditional Western style Christianity, or do you want to be a sold-out, burning flame of love as you seek to become a true follower of the Way of Jesus?  It’s a no-brainer for me.  I want to love as Christ did.  I want to follow His way.  I want to so closely follow in His footsteps that I (to quote Shane Claiborne) “get His dust on me.”  How about you?

Following the Way

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Regular readers of this blog know we talk a lot about love.  We talk a lot about following Christ.  It’s easy to say we love people, and perhaps easy even to think we are following Christ, but what does this really mean?  What does following Christ look like in the daily grind of our lives?

If we would truly follow Christ, one of the biggest shifts we need to experience is the way we see events unfolding around us.  Instead of blaring our horn and cursing the driver who just cut us off, we need our first instinct to be to pray for that driver.  Pray for their protection and others as they drive erratically.  Pray for the person themselves… perhaps they have had a horrible day and that’s why they are behaving as they are.  Perhaps they need someone to love them; pray God would send someone into their life to show them love.  Instead of driving by someone who has car trouble, we need to instead see what we can do to help.  Watch for people in the grocery store for whom you might be able to buy some groceries.  Take a walk around your neighborhood.  Are there lawns that need mowing, any obvious outside repairs you could assist with?  All of these random acts of love come at a cost; some may cost us financially, but all will cost us our time.  All will require sacrifice and unselfishness.  To put it another way, all these acts will require love.

Therein lies the rub.  Most of us would agree that we want to be the people who do the acts described above.  But how many of us take the time to be that person?  How many of us discipline ourselves to think before we act or before we speak?  How many of us are willing to put our own agendas aside to truly be the hands and feet of Jesus?  When it comes down to it we still struggle with our own self importance and selfishness.  We would rather love ourselves, so to speak, rather than give that love to others.  Jesus showed the perfect example of a selfless life.  Look at how often He interrupted His day to take the time to touch someone in need.  This never disturbed His agenda, because His agenda was love.  Until our agenda becomes one of showing love to others, of serving others in ways big and small, we will continue to see people as an interruption.  People were not an interruption to Jesus, they were His mission.  If we are to follow the way of Jesus, they will be our mission as well.

Are we willing to give up our plans and dreams to follow Christ?  We cannot claim to be a follower of Christ and have a mission that is different from His.  Our own dreams must be able to exist in parallel with loving and serving others or those dreams must be put aside.  If the heart and purpose of our dreams is not loving and serving others, then we are not followers of Christ.  We will be like those mentioned in Matthew, where we say “Lord, did we not prophesy and cast out demons in Your name?”, and He will say those crushing words: “Depart from Me, because I don’t know you.” (Matthew 7:13-23)  Knowing who Christ is is not enough.  Believing in Christ is not enough; even demons believe in Jesus and know who He is (James 2:19).  We must follow Him with all that we are, and that means taking every opportunity to love and serve others.  Check your mission today.  Is it in line with the way of Christ?  If not, begin correcting your course immediately.  Realign your life and schedule to be in sync with God’s mission.  Seize every opportunity to love and serve those around you; make that your agenda in life.  Do this and you will truly be a follower of Christ.

No Fear

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There was no fear in Eden.  Humans lived among the wildlife and no one was afraid.  Man and woman lived naked together and there was no shame, no fear of acceptance.  The concept of fear did not exist, everything was good.  And in the midst of this environment God walked with man.

Fast forward to today.  Fear is rampant.  Animals flee in terror from humans, and humans in turn show both caution and fear to the beasts of the field.  Nakedness now comes in flavors of brazenness and embarrassment.  There is fear of acceptance.  In fact fear of acceptance leads some to hide away lest anyone should see and still others to give away what they rightfully own to those undeserving to receive it.  We fear a lack of money, a lack of food and worry over being able to afford shelter.  Fear is the great evil.  It paralyzes and it cheats us of our dreams.  Fear permeates the darkness and covers the light.  We are indeed a people infected by the curse of fear.

We weren’t created this way.  We weren’t created to deal with these feelings.  We were created to wonder and awe and to love all that surrounds us.  We have been robbed.  We have been cheated of the life we were meant to live, of the life we so deeply desire to live.  But there is hope… love conquers fear.  Love is not only the great equalizer, it is the greatest conqueror.

Jesus came into a fearful world and set us free from the curse.  He offers each of us absolute freedom from the poison of fear.  The antidote is love and this love bleeds from our Savior.  He poured out his love on Calvary and we need only bow at the foot of that cross to be drenched in His love.  When we love, we cannot fear.  Love casts out fear as surely as Christ cast out demons.  Love conquers fear every time.

Of what are you fearful?  Do you fear losing your job, your spouse, your children or your sense of security?  I submit that when we fear we expose the fact that we do not have enough love in our lives.  The love I speak of is love we give.  As followers of Christ, we all have been given more love than we could ever need.  This is the very reason we are to give some away.  In Christ we have an endless supply so we can never give too much love away.  When we allow fear to reside within us, we are squeezing out the places reserved for love.  Fear proves we are inward focused, we are selfish.  Start giving love away.  Instead of worrying about your own job, see if you can help someone who has already lost theirs.  Instead of fearing for your security, reach out and comfort someone else.  Remember, love trumps fear every time.  We are given a Spirit of love, not of fear.  We were created to love, not fear.  Start living as the person you were created to be.

They Gave Up Everything

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As I was reading a familiar passage of Scripture today, I was struck anew by a thought: when Jesus called His first four disciples, they immediately gave up everything that they had and followed Him.  Peter, James and John left behind their fishing business and jobs and just followed.  They didn’t question Jesus, they didn’t plan how they would make a living or pay the bills; they simply followed.  If Jesus were to appear on the scene today, come to your place of work and tell you to follow Him, would you?  Would I?

It’s so easy to read through these Bible stories without pausing to reflect on what they are really saying.  “Wow, the disciples left everything and followed Him.  How cool were they?  They were such spiritual giants.  Next.”  Let the story sink in; apply it to yourself.  Honestly, ask yourself, if Jesus told me to give up everything, to leave it right then and there, would I?  This call to follow Christ is not for the faint of heart.  There’s no promise of monetary success or fame.  In fact, to the contrary, Jesus tells us straight up that we will probably not have as much as a place to sleep at night and that we’ll face hostility and persecution.  Cool.  This is exactly why I’d want to give up my current lifestyle.  Well, okay, not so much really.

Yet, this was the call to the first disciples and it remains the call of Christ to each of us today.  Will we give up everything?  Will we risk alienating our friends and family?  Will we endure embarrassment and persecution?  Would we even (gulp) be willing to die?  All this simply because He said to follow Him; How much do you love Him?  Can we honestly say that we would do for Him what He did for us?  Or is it more comfortable to just thank Him for what he did and then snuggle down in our warm beds to catch a good night’s sleep?  What are you willing to give up?  If it’s less than everything then that is simply not good enough.  Christ demands it all.  We call Him Lord yet refuse to honor Him as such.  Do you trust Him to care for your needs, trust Him enough to spit in the face of logic by giving up all that we possess? Do you trust Him with your life to the degree that you are willing to lay it down?

It’s easy to give a lip service answer to these questions.  Of course we love Him; of course we trust Him.  Why of course we’d die for Him!  But would we?  What would your neighborhood, your city and your state look like if all the Christians returned to the New Testament model for the church and we sold everything we had so we could care for the needs of those who had less than we do?  I’m not talking Socialism here; Jesus never advocated any political system.  But I am talking about love, something Jesus was adamant about providing.  Would we be willing to give up everything?  Are we willing to follow Him to dangerous places so we can demonstrate and apply His love?  If Jesus were to start all over today, would you be one of His first disciples?  Until you are willing to give up everything – everything and everyone – then that answer would have to be ‘no’.  Let us repent of our lack of belief and beg that God would give us the strength to follow Him at any cost.