By Christopher Robertson
A recent holiday experience reminded me how I’m starting to pay enough heed to my calling that it’s getting me in trouble.
This year, on Christmas day, a bunch of us packed in the car with family on our mind. Despite the snow, we drove to the nursing home to see my great-grandmother.
On our way, we passed through a neighborhood of big, beautiful homes that had each of us saying, “Look at that one!” Each house seemed to have a Christmas tree in the window and lights streaming to and fro outside. My Pawpaw leaned over and said to me, “You know. It won’t be long, and you could be living in one of these houses.”
Without hesitation I replied, “No, I won’t. I can’t be a follower of Jesus and live in a million-dollar house.”
I’d thought similar things many times before, but this time I said it out loud. It became apparent to my family that I am beginning to take Jesus a little too seriously.
The message of Jesus has done something to me. I can’t drive through nice neighborhoods without thinking about ghettoes, slums, townships and favelas filled with impoverished, marginalized and hopeless people.
The more I get to know Jesus, the harder it is getting for me to see things the same. I’m becoming quite peculiar, even to my family.
Jesus’ teachings are subversive. One day Jesus went up on a hillside and preached a powerful sermon, the Sermon on the Mount. This masterful sermon starts with the Beatitudes where the poor in spirit, the mourning, the meek, the merciful, the suffering and so on are blessed — not the rich, the happy, the haughty, the merciless and the comfortable. Jesus paints a picture of what the Kingdom of God looks like on Earth, and he challenges his followers to begin building their lives on his words.
While the kingdom of Rome was at the peak of its glory, Jesus preached the Kingdom of God. These two dominions were worlds apart. For this reason, to claim citizenship in the Kingdom of God was to be set apart. Rome flaunted its power, money, resources and army (sound familiar?) while Christians boasted in Jesus. They died martyrs because they pledged allegiance to Jesus instead of Rome.
The early church, in effort to be the extension of God’s presence in the world, sought to live out the message that Jesus embodied. They loved everyone, shared all things in common, sold their possessions and gave to everyone in need, even those who expected handouts (Acts 2 and 4). It is no wonder that people from every walk of life were attracted to this community of grace, and the empire of Rome was threatened by it. It was Christian communities the size of a mustard seed that threatened the entire Roman system, a system that John of Patmos called the “Beast” in Revelation.
The Christian community is meant to be the salt of the earth and the light of the world. Is it possible that we have lost our saltiness and hid our light under a bowl? Have we tried to follow the Way of Jesus without changing our way of life?
In their book, Unchristian, David Kinnaman and Gabe Lyons explore how Christians in the United States are perceived by “outsiders.” In short, they discovered that American Christians really aren’t countercultural. Matter of fact, outsiders see Christians as judgmental hypocrites trying to get them saved; while Christians should be beacons of love, peace and hope, we are known for being anti-homosexual, sheltered, and too political. The world looks at the Christian church in America and can’t see Jesus. They are left wondering if Jesus is really the best option.
The Way of Jesus is meant to captivate. It is counter-cultural and transformative. While completely foreign to our nature, it is beautiful. To live like Jesus is to orient our lives toward a new world — a world where peace, love and justice reign. We are to so anticipate heaven that we want it now, in this life.
In order to change this world, we have to model a different way — Jesus’ Way. This may require us to give away a jacket instead of buying a new one. It may mean loving an enemy so others will see that we don’t have to kill them. If we take Jesus too seriously, he might convince us to sell our house — even leave our job — and we may feel the desire to exchange our pride and prosperity for humility and poverty.
If we follow Jesus, it seems inevitable that we will become a little peculiar.