Unbridled
Does following Jesus have to suck? I mean really...c'mon! Does it have to amount to just following a bunch of rules and being bored out of your mind? Our fifth core value at TXC is "Life Altering Adventure". Everytime I mention this to someone their eyes light up. We all know what following Jesus could be like, we just don't know how to get there.
When I look at the disciples , who they were and what they got to see Jesus do, the whole thing is just unbelievable. You've got all of these misfits that work 9-5 jobs either gutting fish or cleaning out peoples' pockets and Jesus comes along and tells them all that they can be just like him. So here are these dudes that have just left their mundane jobs that are going nowhere to follow Jesus. They follow him everywhere and get to see him do some of the most insane things that anyone in that time had ever seen.
What I find hard to believe is that every time they saw him perform a miracle they just sat there with stone cold faces as if they had seen this bag of tricks too many times before. I have a hard time believing that these guys were bored. I have a hard time believing that they didn't have an adrenaline rush or 10. We just don't see a whole lot of reactions in the gospels but I'd be willing to bet that these guys were freaking out! When Jesus fed the 5,000, I can see them just rubbing their eyes over and over trying to wake up from this crazy dream they were having. When the blind saw and lame got up and walked, you can't tell me that they weren't running around in wonder.
There's just something that isn't clicking with people when we talk about these things in a way that communicates "it wasn't much". I know we don't think that way but I don't think I've let it grip me enough. I'm not sure I know who Jesus really was or is today.
Following Jesus is supposed to be the biggest life altering adventure that we could ever embark on. It's one that is loaded with mystery, challenge, adrenaline rushes, risk, failure, success, blind leaps of faith and ultimately a freedom that can't be found in any other place on the earth. Following Jesus is supposed to give you those butterflies in your stomach as you step out and do something that you never thought you were able to do but because of the mission you are on and the God that backs you, it's possible. It's not easy, but possible. Comfort is the death of the church. Jesus is leading us to go into some pretty crazy places and circumstances and I'm telling you, we are going. I cannot stay stuck in the ghetto where everything is prim and proper and in it's place. There is a messed up world that needs to see the real Jesus and it's going to take someone who is willing to take him there. I'm in...are you?
When I look at the disciples , who they were and what they got to see Jesus do, the whole thing is just unbelievable. You've got all of these misfits that work 9-5 jobs either gutting fish or cleaning out peoples' pockets and Jesus comes along and tells them all that they can be just like him. So here are these dudes that have just left their mundane jobs that are going nowhere to follow Jesus. They follow him everywhere and get to see him do some of the most insane things that anyone in that time had ever seen.
What I find hard to believe is that every time they saw him perform a miracle they just sat there with stone cold faces as if they had seen this bag of tricks too many times before. I have a hard time believing that these guys were bored. I have a hard time believing that they didn't have an adrenaline rush or 10. We just don't see a whole lot of reactions in the gospels but I'd be willing to bet that these guys were freaking out! When Jesus fed the 5,000, I can see them just rubbing their eyes over and over trying to wake up from this crazy dream they were having. When the blind saw and lame got up and walked, you can't tell me that they weren't running around in wonder.
There's just something that isn't clicking with people when we talk about these things in a way that communicates "it wasn't much". I know we don't think that way but I don't think I've let it grip me enough. I'm not sure I know who Jesus really was or is today.
Following Jesus is supposed to be the biggest life altering adventure that we could ever embark on. It's one that is loaded with mystery, challenge, adrenaline rushes, risk, failure, success, blind leaps of faith and ultimately a freedom that can't be found in any other place on the earth. Following Jesus is supposed to give you those butterflies in your stomach as you step out and do something that you never thought you were able to do but because of the mission you are on and the God that backs you, it's possible. It's not easy, but possible. Comfort is the death of the church. Jesus is leading us to go into some pretty crazy places and circumstances and I'm telling you, we are going. I cannot stay stuck in the ghetto where everything is prim and proper and in it's place. There is a messed up world that needs to see the real Jesus and it's going to take someone who is willing to take him there. I'm in...are you?
