Christian living — on the edge
by VivianHere’s another thought-provoking quote from Shane Claiborne‘s book “The Irresistible Revolution: Living as an Ordinary Radical”:
“In my youth-group days, I had seen all too many wild would-be Jesus radicals fall by the wayside because they had never been trusted with the adventure of revolutionary living…. God forgive us for all those we have lost because we made the gospel boring. I am convinced that if we lose kids to the culture of drugs and materialism, of violence and war, it’s because we don’t dare them, not because we don’t entertain them. It’s because we make the gospel too easy, not because we make it too difficult. Kids want to do something heroic with their lives, which is why they play video games and join the army. But what are they to do with a church that teaches them to tiptoe through life so they can arrive safely at death?”
I have to confess that I tend towards tiptoeing rather than living on the edge, but that certainly isn’t the way Jesus lived.
What makes living out the gospel exciting to you?
August 4th, 2008 at 6:01 pm
Well, never let it be said that I am not excited to be a Christian.
Great find, Vivian. In fact, I am going to take our hot topic class on a little field trip this coming Sunday to discuss this very topic (sorta). Thanks for getting us primed.\
As for me, I remember still today the moment I came up out of the waters of baptism. The guy who baptized me ask me to shout something out. Before going under he also said to hold my nose. I didn’t want to do this for fear my nose might not make it into heaven, leaving a significant portion of my physical being behind. So, I didn’t hold it resulting in the whole nasal cavity being filled up with water.
I met some friends I hadn’t seen in 20-25 years (longer?) last week and we talked about the olden days. One of my friends, not a Christian still, remembered that night.
“You came out of the water and spit on everyone as you yelled ‘praise the Lord.’” You were so excited about being a Christian he said.
I am still excited.
How about you, Vivian, what makes you excited about living out the gospel?
August 6th, 2008 at 6:08 pm
I guess I was bored, so I read this again…then I followed the link to Shane C.’s website.
Tell me again why I should care what it is he thinks. Perhaps I am missing something.
August 7th, 2008 at 8:28 am
I catch a glimpse of excitement when there are opportunities to talk with others about the hope that we have. However, actions speak louder than words, and a lot of times our lives look no different than others’. The reason I find Shane intriguing is that his life challenges me to follow Jesus’ teachings, out of my suburban pew and into the world. Christianity is more than what most of us settle for.
August 12th, 2008 at 8:56 am
Jesus is anything but a tiptoe-er. He was verbally aggressive with the religious leaders of the day. He tromped through their traditions and made them look foolish when they called him on it. Jesus dashed people’s wrong expectations of him with forceful language and alarming behavior. He actively showed love for people on the fringe — whether female, sinful, or diseased people — without regard for how it would look to those who seemed religiously righteous.
It’s understandable that religious parents and leaders of today would want their kids to be conservative in their behavior, playing it safe, not getting involved in the wrong crowd, not picking fights with other people. But does that overprotection dampen their spiritual growth and keep them from acting on God’s prompting in the moment? In fact, do we teach our kids to listen to God’s prompting, no matter where it might lead them?
That’s a scary thing to teach because God calls people to do some pretty crazy things more often than not. It’s kind of like the parent who keeps the house sterile so their toddlers won’t encounter any germs on the floor. It sounds right, but in the end, their immune systems may not be as robust as if they had been exposed to a wilder environment.