The Way of Jesus is Hard

The way of Jesus, the way that infuses life into our souls, is hard.  Jesus said so.  He said it’s the narrow way, the hard way.  It’s the way that few people choose.  Most of us opt for the easy way, the way that keeps taking us to the same destructive destinations. (Matthew 7:13-14)

But those who choose the way of Jesus do hard things.  They grow food for the hungry, dig wells for the thirsty, open their doors to strangers, sew cloths for the naked, give medicine to the sick and visit the imprisoned. (Matthew 25:31-46)

I am often offended by the way of Jesus.

Take, for example, the very idea of inviting a stranger into my home.  I’m reluctant to house some of my own family members, much less a stranger!  But Jesus said that inviting a stranger in is actually making him [Jesus] my guest.  No pressure there!  

I once heard T.W. Hunt, one of the great saints now absent from the body and present with the Lord, tell a story about a “stranger” who knocked on his door.  He was a man who had recently shown up at T.W.’s church looking to make a change, hoping to be discipled in the way of Jesus by seasoned disciples, like T.W. and his wife Laverne.  To paraphrase a line from a Toby Keith song, this guy looked like a great big biker man.    

After praying it over they decided to invite this strange man into their home to live with them.  And he was indeed strange.  They worked on everything from personal hygiene to personal prayer time.  Needless to say, it was a great challenge for this saintly couple.  But they were determined to believe Jesus and take his teachings seriously.  So, discipleship continued daily.  Eventually, the stranger became a deacon in the church.  The hard way infuses life.    

The way of Jesus, the way that infuses life into our souls, is hard.  Jesus said so.

The word “stranger” in Matthew 25 is the Greek word xenos.  It literally means “alien” or “foreigner.”  We get our English word xenophobia from it, “the fear of foreigners.” 

So, when Jesus spoke these words he wasn’t just telling individuals to open their homes to strangers, he was saying that his kingdom is the kind of kingdom that opens its borders to foreigners, to immigrants, to refuges.   

  

I’m not a politician and I have little interest in attempting to shape national policy (like I even could).  I find that I have very little influence within the kingdoms of the world, including the one in which I live.  So, I mostly try to influence those who consider themselves citizens of the kingdom of God. 

And here’s what I’m trying to say.  Whatever our political affiliation and/or opinions, if you and I are interested in following the teachings of Jesus (also known as “being Christians”) then we must honestly grapple with what he’s inviting us to do for immigrants.  We must ask ourselves what it will look like to choose the way of Jesus.  In other words, those who honestly want to be followers of Jesus must take what he said seriously.

Of course, we won’t get it right much of the time.  Of course, the teachings of Jesus challenge us, offend us, scare us.  But remember, Jesus is the one who has “the words of eternal life.”  (John 6:68)

The way of Jesus is hard, but it’s the way that infuses life into our souls.  Jesus said so.

How in the World is God Saving the World?

Last month I posted a blog entitled “What in the World is Salvation.”  The argument I tried to make was that salvation (as understood by both ancient Jews and Christians) is not nearly as much about getting into heaven when we leave this world as it is about heaven coming to this world.  In short, Jesus Christ came to save the world.  (For more detail, you may want to go back and read that post.)

This month I want to talk about how God is saving the world. 

By the way, to say that salvation is God’s global redemption project is not to say that everyone in the world will be saved.  As much as God longs for all people to receive his gift of salvation, he won’t force it on us.  In the end, we still have the choice.  And some, I believe, will chose the comfortable familiarity of their hell to the breathtaking, painful beauty of heaven.

That said, if salvation is the redemption of our messed-up world, the healing of humanity and the restoration of the cosmos, then how is God getting it done?

The answer to that question is, in a word, Jesus. 

By the way, some Christians seem to believe that Jesus came to save us from God.  Their understanding of the wrath of God leads them to believe that God is extremely angry with humanity, so angry that he has to pour that anger out on someone.  They believe that Jesus came to be the scapegoat that stood between an angry God and sinful people. 

But there is another way of understanding what Jesus did on the cross.  Jesus died on the cross to save the world from our sin, not from God.  It was humanity’s sin that sent this world spiraling down into the abyss of anger, hatred, violence, greed, selfishness, lust…the list goes on.

The audacious claim of Christianity is that the cross of Christ is the pivotal moment in human history; that somehow the death of Jesus changed the trajectory of the world.  On the cross Jesus loosened the death grip that evil had on the world and brought us his salvation.  On the cross Jesus brings healing to our broken world. 

Christians are, at the core of our being, people of faith.  We are people who believe that it’s actually true!  Jesus came to save us from our sin and, dying on a cross outside the city walls of Jerusalem, he accomplished what he came to do.  On that dark, beautiful, Good Friday, salvation came to this hurting world!  We believe that it is true!

So, first of all, Christians are people who believe.  We believe that Jesus came to save the world and that he did not fail.  We believe in Jesus! 

Secondly, Christians are people who live out their beliefs.  We live as if it is true because we believe that it is true!

We love our enemies because Jesus, the one who loved his enemies is delivering us from the sin of hatred and violence.  Salvation has come!  We feed the hungry, heal the sick, shelter the homeless and open our doors to immigrants because we don’t have to be greedy or fearful or hateful any longer.  Salvation has come!  We refuse to live in this world as if this world is hopeless.  We refuse to be those people who believe that the world is bad and getting worse, that we need to hide out in our bunkers every Sunday morning waiting till things get so bad that Jesus has to step in and save us.  No!  We live in this world as people of hope because we believe that Jesus has already stepped in and saved us. 

 

Yes, our world is broken and hurting, but we believe that the healer has already come and the cure was his cross.  So now we take up our crosses and follow him.  We take up our crosses and follow Jesus because we believe in Salvation…and believing we have life through his name.  We are Saved!  The world is being Saved!     

  

What in the World is Salvation?

One of my hopes is to have an ongoing conversation with people who are curious about Christianity.  Sometimes that conversation needs to be about doctrines that are central to our Faith.

One of those is the Doctrine of Salvation. 

Some believe that Salvation is all about getting to go to heaven when we die.  In the church of my youth we talked a lot about “getting saved.”  (And the pastor would add an “uh” for emphasis.  “You need to get saved…uh!”)  For us, salvation was pretty much all about eternal life after our mortal lives were over.  

We quoted John 3:16, the most familiar verse in the Bible, a lot.  For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whoever believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. (RSV)       

However, while Salvation is certainly not less than being in heaven when we die, it is more than that, much more!

Here’s a short definition.  Salvation, according to the Bible, is the complete healing of our broken world, including the broken people in it. 

Remember, John 3:17 comes right after John 3:16.  For God sent the Son into the world, [the Cosmos] not to condemn the world, but that the world, might be saved through him.  (RSV - I added the underlining for emphasis.)  

So, salvation is not just about the transportation of individual human beings to a place called heaven.  Salvation is about the transformation of human beings and the place they call home, the heavens and the earth.

In the book of Revelation, the writer hears loud voices in heaven saying: “The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he will reign for ever and ever.”  Later he hears a loud voice in heaven say: “Now the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God and the authority of his Christ have come.” (Revelation 11&12 - RSV)      

Think about the global implications of salvation coming to our world! 

For example, nations will no longer engage in warfare.  The prophet Isaiah dreamed of a day when nations would repurpose their military weapons, converting them into farming equipment.

Isaiah 2:4 He shall judge between the nations, and shall decide for many peoples; and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war anymore.” (RSV)

Think about it!  No more refugees desperately trying to escape violence in their homeland because their leaders have converted their tanks into tractors.  No more children going hungry because their leaders have redirected billions of dollars from the department of defense to the department of agriculture.    

Think about the implications for individuals like you and me.  Remember, salvation is transformation.  It’s about becoming fully human… the people we were created to be. 

Being saved means that I can actually love my neighbor as I love myself.  I don’t need to protect my ego.  I am free to be honest with myself and others.  I can share freely instead of hording for myself.  I no longer use or abuse others for my own selfish purposes.  I live in the reality of God’s salvation!

More needs to be said about the Doctrine of Salvation.  (The next blog will be about how salvation is coming to the world.)  But for now, let me ask you...  Does this description of salvation tap into a deep longing in your soul?  Does something inside of you yearn for it?  Does the very idea that the world could be a place characterized by Shalom (Peace) resonate deep inside of you?    

If so, I encourage you to contemplate the powerful impact Jesus of Nazareth has had, and is having on our world.  As a follower of Jesus, I have come to believe that the future of the human race depends on what he is up to in this world.  I have come to believe that salvation is not just a future hope, it is a present reality.  I have come to believe that the transformation of our world (including you and me) is a live option.  It can happen now. 

I would be love to hear your thoughts.