JESUS IS A TRAIN WRECK THAT DID HAPPEN

Is it natural, or what, to assume that anything not going well is another's fault. That's how I took it. If what I was doing was the wrong direction, then I wouldn't have taken it in the first place (I assumed). I had to be right. Regarding any task at hand which seemed fouled, the fouler surely could not be me.

I had to think again. It could. It was.

What I am about to say could be regarded as overly simplistic. While it is, it is not to be disregarded with a shrug of indifference. I learned a major fact about a major deficit in my earlier ministry efforts; specifically my preaching and teaching. Both were Jesus-less.

I had no idea this was a problem. Because I salted and peppered his name into sermons, I assumed I was preaching him. I wasn't.

I was devoted to preaching Church of Christ. I read R. L. Whiteside and J. W. McGarvey to find out what I (no really what we) believed and why. When one preaches CoC with defensive gusto, quarrels and all sorts of divisive squabbling follows. But when Jesus is preached....long enough....two things seem to occur: (1) it quickly separates some, and oddly (2) and new kind of harmony begins to develop. There seems to be basic reasons for both.

Separation quickly arises because Jesus will not co-habit a doctrine(s) where he is not supreme. On the other hand, harmony develops because, as Jesus is pondered, our own personal guilt of blatant sinfulship abounds to the point we yearn for his righteousness for ours wreaks of denial and bias.

Both positions tout the Name. The legalistic me referenced Jesus to give him credit for the textual stories. The grace me sees him from a completely different stage. I now see him as a person. I watch his walk. I note things like his lack of panic. His tenderness with each underdog and underdogette is a slap in the face of legalistic tendencies.

Legalism is much easier for one doesn't have to study; but rather parrot and judge. Jesus, though, is ever drawing and ever growing and ever changing....us.

Just as some say they believe in grace when they seem to believe in the word (itself) and not in the activity of it, Jesus can become merely a proper pronoun. I hear others say, Well I believe in the Holy Spirit. Yet, they speak of Him restrictively meaning they believe in His existence but not His immediate activity.

So it is with Jesus. Do we drop his name as an endorsement of faith? Or, do we believe him to be alive, in person, and reigning Lord of the now? He is a personal savior and friend; not a mere religious brand icon.

As we grow into his personality, we will find ourselves more ajar to our religious habits. Jesus is a train wreck that did happen....to me. And....I'm grateful. It is ongoing. When I see him I am forced to lay down my plea to look at what I thought I had believed well and seek his mercy to be allowed to participate again tomorrow.