Teachings,+When+christianity+was+safe

When Christianity was safe
(Kai Stormwalker) (Excerpt and questions from "The Irresistible Revolution" by Shane Claiborne)

“I was just another believer. I believed all the right stuff - that Jesus is the Son of God, died and rose again. I had become a ‘believer,’ but I had no idea what it means to be a follower. People had taught me what Christians believe, But no one had told me how Christians live.” -Shane Claiborne

Is what we believe the only thing that is important about our walk with God? Is this “faith?” What about “how we live?” Is this “works?” James said that “faith without works is dead” (James 2:17).

What about the story of the man who told his two sons to go work in the vineyard. The first said that he would not; but later he regretted it and went. The second son said, “I will, sir,” but he did not go. When Jesus asked the priests he was telling this story to which son had done his father’s will. They replied, “the first.” To this Jesus replied, “Truly I say to you that tax collectors and prostitutes will get into the kingdom of God before you.” What does this mean?

Does it matter to God that we have Christian bumper stickers, jewelry, T-shirts; that we listen to Christian music, read Christian novels, and watch Christian movies and television programs? Or are we as Shane says in this chapter “suffocated by Christianity but thirsty for God?”

When was the last time you really read the Bible? I mean read it? Have you ever thought about the fact that as Shane also said, “Jesus never seemed to do anything normal. How about the fact that his first miracle was the old turning-water-into-wine thing to keep a party going? (Not a miracle that would go over well in some Christian circles.)

Think about it. He scared his friends by walking on water. He heals a blind man by spitting in some dirt and wiping it in the guy’s eyes. He wants us to love our enemies, turn the other cheek, give away all our clothes, happily serve someone who oppresses us, and forgive others whenever they ask to be forgiven.

Too many people think that they are okay. They put on their blinders and stumble forward, content to believe that the domesticated, pasteurized, Americanized, Republicanized Jesus is the Jesus of the Gospels. But, as the writer of the letter to the Galatians would ask, which gospels?

Do we want to live the American Dream, the dream of hanging with the in crowd, making lots of money, having lots of stuff, strutting our influence, and having others look at us with longing. Or do we want to live the Jesus Dream, the dream of the kingdom of God where we love the unlovable, sell everything we have and give the money to the poor, and actually look into the eyes of those on street corners that we sometimes give our loose change to.