Just enough Jesus

"We have forced God into a mold that fits our lifestyle instead of allowing Him to mold our lives."

We have a problem in modern Christianity:

We do not wrestle.

Becoming and living as a student of Christ is hard.

Jesus tells His students to deny themselves and take up His cross. His message so strongly contradicts our human nature that it challenges us in every conceivable way.

The writings about Jesus were authored by His eyewitnesses two thousand years ago. Nothing about their reports suggests that understanding them should be easy: they were written in a language we cannot read, at a time in which we did not live, in a culture that is unfamiliar to us, for people we do not know, about a God who became man.

That sounds daunting.

If I want to take this God who became man seriously, would it not be logical for me to do everything I can to learn that language which I cannot read?

If I want to know Jesus, would it not make sense for me to do everything I can to learn about that time in which I did not live?

And would it not be natural to explore that culture, which is unfamiliar to me, and study those people I do not know, and investigate the God who became man?

Should curiosity not make me eager to understand these ancient writings so that I feel like I am sitting in the dust among Jesus’ students listening to Him speak?

Undoubtedly, becoming a student of Christ is challenging – so challenging, in fact, that we choose to make a few, should I say, “adjustments” so that it becomes a bit easier:

We tell ourselves that our English translations of the biblical writings are perfect and inerrant. That way, we do not have to learn that ancient language that we don’t understand.

We tell ourselves that the biblical writings were written specifically for us. That way, we do not have to understand the people for whom they were originally intended, nor the culture in which they lived.

We tell ourselves that the Spirit of God will reveal to us what we are supposed to understand. That way, we do not have to study.

And that way, we can stop thinking.

And we do that.

As soon as God comes up in conversation, we stop thinking because we fear asking questions might offend Him. But what we are actually trying to avoid is this: offending ourselves. For wondering might reveal faulty traditions, and study might show that we must change our ways.

…and we don’t want to change.

We want just enough Bible so we can find a favorite verse.

We want just enough church so that we have friends.

We want just enough study so that we can deceive ourselves into believing our faith is true.

We want just enough prayer so that our wishes are heard.

And we want just enough Jesus so that we can call ourselves Christians.

But we don’t want all of Him.

Because then we would have to change.

And we would have to deny ourselves and take up His cross.

We don’t want all of Him because then we would have to wrestle.

We would rather have just enough Jesus.

We would rather stay comfortable…

Believing we are right…

Knowing we are ignorant.

'Cross Toss' - sometimes it's easier to ignore Jesus than follow Him