I am on such a journey right now!
Let me make things very clear, I am not being pious and I am certainly not holy nor anywhere near being a saint. I have the same joys, concerns and struggles, as usual, but right now I am discovering so much about God’s kingdom here on earth as it is in heaven. Praise God!
What I want to share is that as I read scripture like Matthew 21:31, 43 (ESV), books like “The Secret Message of Jesus” by Brian McLaren, listen to bands like Third Day, Audio Adrenaline, Switchfoot, Building 429, etc., observe the radical rantings of real Christians like Shane Claiborne, Chris Haw and friends (whom I was blessed to hear speak in person last night during a stop on their Jesus for President tour), I realize that I MUST transform to become the kind of me who God intended for me to be at the point of creation.
This new me, a new kind of Christian me, is still a sinner . However, this sinner is one with Jesus in spirit as I transform into someone who is suddenly concerned with real inner change and outwardly demonstrates the effects of the risen savior Jesus Christ living within me. I am the new kind of me who now loves people…all people. This demonstration of love begins with unconditional love of those closest to me, my beautiful family and extends to those who I formerly thought of as un-lovable or forgettable.
As mother Theresa said, “Being unwanted, unloved, uncared for, forgotten by everybody, I think that is a much greater hunger, a much greater poverty than the person who has nothing to eat.”
If I am a new kind of Christ loving Christian, I am a new creation in Christ, who is concerned with his fellow laborer, so I am loving all of the people whom I work with. In my case, as a teacher, I am also a better kind of teacher, who demonstrates love, kindness and patience with students, parents, faculty and administrators.
This also applies if I am a cab driver. I am a better cab driver to my boss, co-workers and to all the fares that I pick up. As a better cab driver, I find a way (the Jesus way) to listen to people, make them smile, laugh, think or most importantly feel cared about. I might even help make them feel (dare I say)… loved.
This new me, a new kind of Christ follower, cares about social justice. I don’t just talk about the homeless, the poor, the needy, the oppressed, the suffering, the alcoholic and addict, but I love them enough to do something about moving my lazy butt off my chair and do more than write a check. The new kind of me now dares to move in the direction of serving the needy and suffering in soup kitchens, food pantries, homeless shelters, downtown, next door, while on vacation, at the mall or at the grocery store.
I am not there yet and will probably be on this journey for the rest of my life, but what excitement comes from awakening to the reality that I have been completely wrong in terms of what I thought it meant to be a Christian, a follower and lover of Jesus.
That’s it for now. I’m sure I’ll have more rantings and ravings to come in the near future.
POST UPDATE: I have been gone for a while and am now back at this blog site. This reflects my journey from the last time that I wrote here. I’ve definitely had my ups and downs in my walk with Jesus and I will share these sometime soon. However, for the moment, I wanted to share that after spending some time in a self created personal hell, and having to recover from the fallout, I am back with a determination to never go back to my old ways. God has spoken loud and clear to me and in His name and with His strenghth, I claim today that there is no turning back for me.
