When do you see yourself most like Jesus? What circumstances play out which gives your spirit a rush which brings you ultimate delight in being connected to kingdom life? Where is it on this earth you feel most connected to the Living Christ?
Answers, of course, will vary. But, it's good to ponder just when these moments are that we might find even more of them. Our goal is to be like him. Ironically, it seems our greatest satisfaction is when we have such experiences which are reverse to our most comfortable zones.
I direct your attention to your connecting and mixing with the poor in spirit. How's it going? These may simply be the poor. Our tendency is to be stronger on theological theory than compassionate connection. My greatest moments are not in the presence of those the world would regard as celebrities, but with those the King would regard as highly esteemed. We tend to drift toward our own kind. Jesus forces the issue and plants himself in the middle of the messes.
He went home with Zachaeus, stopped the crowd to attend to the unnamed woman who touched him, and selected as kingdom leaders the greatest quagmire of misfits ever. Jesus comes alive in us or us in him when we are about his father's business of touching those regarded as the most untouchables and conversing with some of communities' most suspect. Jesus went where the human spirit tends to shun.....high class or low....somewhere other than where we feel safe and unimposed upon.
We are most like Jesus when we leave our heaven with all of its theorizing and discussing to walk directly into others' hell where fear and threat are so thick one could cut it with a knife. I've been in the company I didn't want to keep. I've ministered to those who have zero friends. I've left at times having absorbed their odor only to sense in my spirit, "Ah, this too is where Jesus would have gone." At these moments it may be we are most like Jesus.
2 comments:
The ratio of Bible verses about the poor to the rest of the Bible is much higher than the ratio of the number of sermons I've heard about the poor to the rest of the sermons. We need to examine why we are so far out of balance.
great post. the book, irresistable revolution by shane claiborne illustrates this thinking in a wonderful way. we don't have to move to inner city philly or calcutta like shane did, we can make a difference right here in oklahoma by stepping outside the doors of our church buildings.
we can talk to people we see doing yardwork while on our way to church or step further outside the comfort zone and minister to those milling about the county courthouse. If you haven't been inside, or around the tulsa or okc county courthouse lately, its a whole different world from the one most of us operate in daily.
the toughest part of being like jesus is loving those we come in contact with when our 1st instinct is to turn around or walk around them. we have been called to love these people and he did not call us to it because it was easy. he gave us the ultimate example and led the way. we rarely expect others to put themselves in dangerous and uncomfortable situations unless we are willing to be there as well. Jesus already did it. Now its up to us to discard the notion that it was easier for Him then than it is now. Its never easy, thats why the reward is so great. Saving the souls of others and our own.
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