Jesus Called and he Wants His Religion Back

For many years I would say that I have had sort of a “thing” for stickers. Years ago I drove a little VW Fox that looked like the sticker selection at any given “dead head” shop. I mean there just had to be Jerry Garcia, a “steal your face”, Amnesty International, Rainforest Action Network décor on the back of the car. It was just cool! Well my fascination with stickers continues, but recently I have found myself paying close attention to the rear of other people’s cars. It appears that a person can basically be defined by the back of their car or bumper.

Perhaps the most expressive collection of such décor would be found on college campuses. I mean, that is just what we do at 20: Express Ourselves! I was particularly intrigued by one I have seen recently that proclaims boldly that “Jesus Called and He Wants His Religion Back.” Needless to say, this one could be written off as potentially offensive to those who claim faith in Jesus, but also extremely thought provocative as well. I choose thought provocative. I wonder what they mean by placing that on their bumper. I cannot read their mind, but it sure does make me think!

Certainly there could be all kinds of theological pursuits in explaining this one and much emphasis on the historicity of Jesus’ “religion” and the Jewish practices of His day. However, if I had to take a guess I would think that this individual who placed the sticker would be much more concerned with the heart of the matter. If asked they would say, “The church in America just does NOT get it.” Or maybe “Why are so many Christians and so many churches so focused within their own walls, building multi-million dollar structures and entertaining people rather than living out the heart of Christ in their own community?” I wonder the same thing!

As I regularly encounter the poor, homeless and less fortunate, it is no surprise why they do NOT want to talk about the Christian faith very much at all. Several days ago, I mentioned to a homeless man that I would pray for him and immediately you could just see him flinch as I mentioned this. My mind was curious as to whether or not he might have been thinking “Oh gosh, I knew there had to be strings attached to this guy helping me, now he wants to convert me.” I do not know this for sure, but I have seen enough skepticism by the poor that I could basically see it in his mind. This is tragic for a faith or for a “religion” associated with Jesus.

The issue at hand or heart of the matter is not always making converts or so-called “soul winning” (a term that really bugs me). The emphasis is people. The emphasis is love. The emphasis is care, concern and compassion. When members of our society and culture display such a statement on their vehicle, I would venture to assume that what they want to see from the community associated with Jesus is the heart of Jesus being displayed through people getting out of themselves and genuinely interested in the widow, orphan, poor and impoverished.

For what it is worth, I firmly believe that a vast majority of American churches and those individuals within her walls should participate in a conference call from Jesus stating that He “wants His religion back.” Think about it!

Life Lessons and Random Acts of Kindness

Honestly, I absolutely hate it when I realize just how hard-headed I am and how difficult I make it on myself in learning lessons. Recently I had to come to another one of those places of complete and total frustration in order to return to a point of complete and total surrender. It was another one of those really hard lessons to learn because I, like so many people right now, have felt like I was "going under" so to speak. Times are just tough and I "felt" like I was sinking. And as a result of all my struggles, I have done the opposite of what a struggling man should do.

When someone is saving a potential drowning victim the most important thing for the one drowning is to cease fighting, give up, rest, relax. The potential victim can only be saved if he or she stops flailing and fighting and allows themselves to be helped. The struggling and striving gets them no where. Such is the spiritual life!

The amazing part is that God responds IMMEDIATELY at times. Granted He is sovereign and I cannot ultimately manipulate His timing. He so desires to show Himself in our lives that when we learn the lesson, he just responds right away. I had what I have called my Jonah experience lately and the culmination of that was this past weekend. Friday night through Sunday I was once and for all laying it all out for a showdown with the Lord over some recent frustrations, hurts and hang-ups, and guess who won? Yep, He did. And by Sunday afternoon I saw blessings and results from that "loss" in the grapple that turned out to be the greatest of wins.

Then He does what I needed most and what this "note" is truly all about. He put me in a lunch meeting with a husband and father of two small children that has been dealing with brain cancer for years and is STILL in the process of becoming an ordained pastor. He is an amazing friend and always helps me see things in perspective even though he never tries. Man how much he could just look at me and say "Bro do you really wanna know what struggling is, be going through your 11th round of chemo with an infant at home", but he never does. He doesn't have too, his persona does it all and he inspires me.

Then, after I leave the lunch I see a homeless man around the corner as I am going in to Barnes and Nobles for a bit. It is like 37 degrees outside and there sits this man without what I would consider to be warm clothing and he is drinking Listerine (has lots of alcohol in it). I am thinking to myself "I have to help this guy and at least buy him a cup of Starbucks coffee." Well I did and it opened up to a great time of conversation. This guy was living in the woods, with 20 degree nights and doesn't even have a sleeping bag. Please, I am not saying this to bring any type of attention to myself at all, I will make the main point eventually, but the guy now has all that he needs to stay warm if an arctic blast were to come.

SO, here is the point: We can and should allow God to teach us the lessons that He desires to teach us because such huge blessing will come from it, but even more because He will "show up" and use us in such humbling ways that His character is revealed through us. The homeless man kept saying "are you sure that you want to do this? It is just too much! It is just so kind!" All I could say in response is "God has done some incredible stuff in my life and gosh He puts up with a hard-headed kid like me and is so kind to me, so I want to be kind to you." I encourage everyone to do this with homeless or less fortunate people in your community.

I can remember a bumper sticker I used to see a lot that said "Practice Random Acts of Kindness" - Yes, lets do it! Because God is so gracious with us in our most stubborn times. Because He allows us to fuss, flail and fight until we have had enough and then ( because He is love) turns around and uses us for His glory in the life of a homeless man. I am so near-sighted that I rarely see the process that the past several days have been for me in the culmination of months of stubbornness, then finally surrendering (again) and then being so blessed by Him to be His vessel. If we see it, recognize it and submit to it, many poor people in our communities will have a much better Christmas and I can assure you 100% that NOTHING relieves the stress of the economy, financial worries, shopping lists, etc. like investing in the life of someone without a coat, a blanket or a home!