CRAZY PILLS?

Many Christians today do not put Jesus’ words into practice, and in fact they find it ridiculous that anyone might suggest that they are expected to do so.

What’s going on here? I feel like Mugato in Zoolander shouting, “Am I the only one who can see this? I feel like I’m taking crazy pills, here.”

Just the other day I encountered a Christian who acted as if putting Jesus’ words into practice would most likely result in cutting off your own hands or plucking out your own eyes. Presumably because they’ve heard that Jesus told someone to do that once and therefore obedience to Jesus must include self-mutilation.

Even worse, this sort of reaction is not an isolated incident. Many Christians – dare I say “Most” Christians – today are of the same mind on this. For them, following Jesus is an optional, extra-curricular activity that could possibly be undertaken but it is not necessary by any means. Being a Christian, in their minds, is simply about believing the right ideas about God and little else. Of course, one must pray a certain prayer in a certain way to be saved from an eternal torture in hell, but beyond that all that God requires of Christians is to hold the right set of beliefs.

Let me say this: If the words of Jesus are not meant to be put into practice, then Jesus is not Lord and Christianity is a dead religion. [You can Tweet me on that].

Christianity is all about discipleship. It is primarily about one person pledging their life to Jesus and surrendering everything to Christ. Apart from that you may believe whatever you like and pray whatever comes to mind, but you may not call yourself a Christian.

Jesus called for disciples to follow him. [Matt. 4:19]

He warned them to count the cost before starting out with him. [Luke 14:26-28]

He told them that it would cost them just one thing – and that was called “everything”. [Luke 14:33]

He explained that it was impossible to be his disciple without denying yourself and taking up your cross daily. [Matt. 16:24]

He complained against those who wanted to call him ‘Lord, Lord’ without actually doing what he commanded. [Luke 6:46-49]

Disciples and Christians are exactly the same thing. [Acts 11:26]

Whatever else you believe about Jesus or the Scriptures, you must not call yourself a Christian if you do not daily submit to Jesus as your Lord. [Romans 10:9]

A.W. Tozer once called those who deny this simple truth “Vampire Christians” because they only want enough of Christ’s blood to get to heaven, but have no real intention of following Jesus with their life.

Am I the one taking crazy pills here? Or is it everyone else?

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The Body of Jesus

The body of Jesus was taken down from the cross. It was cold; lifeless; heavy.

They washed his body clean with water and anointed it with spices, wrapping it in a shroud from head to toe.

They laid his body in the cold, dark tomb and rolled the stone over the door. In the silence that followed, the body of Jesus did not stir.

Outside of the tomb, life went on as usual. Most people celebrated the Passover feast with their families, laughed with their friends, played with their children, argued with their neighbors, went through their normal, everyday lives, oblivious to the significance of the cross.

As the lifeless body of Jesus rested in the tomb, people wept for lack of hope.

As Jesus lay motionless, they suffered the unbearable pain of loneliness.
As Jesus’ body did nothing, they fainted from hunger.
As the body was unmoved, they cried out for mercy but no one answered them.

Later, people would claim that Jesus was alive. But when those in pain looked, the body of Christ was motionless.

Some shouted that Jesus had risen from the dead. But then some of those who were hungry noticed that the body of Jesus wasn’t concerned with their needs.

Others waved banners and sang songs about the resurrection of Jesus. But then those in prison wondered why the body of Jesus was still wrapped up and hiding behind a large stone wall.

Is the body of Jesus alive today? Or is the body of Jesus still nestled in the dark of the cold tomb?

We are the body of Jesus. If we want the world to know that Jesus is alive today, we are the physical evidence of his resurrection. If Jesus lives in us, then He must live through us.

If Jesus was truly alive today, where would He be found? In the houses of the poor; beside the beds of the HIV infected; holding the hands of the homeless; comforting the lonely; visiting the prisoner.

And if Jesus is there, wouldn’t it be strange for His body not to be there, too?

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10 Barriers to Effective Followership

The Christian church is not in need of more leaders today. We are not having a crisis of leadership. We have a leader. He is flawless. He is marvelous. He is sufficient.

What we have today is a desperate need for more followers. We need people who will listen to our leader and put his words into practice.  Nothing else will rescue the Church from complete irrelevance.

Only this is required: Listen to Jesus. Do what He says.

Here are 10 Barriers to Effective Followership:

1. Focusing too much on being the leader.
2. Acting as if only trained professionals are capable of following Jesus.
3. Believing that average people are not “good enough” to be like Jesus.
4. Using the word “leader” too often.
5. Forgetting to be a servant to everyone.
6. Talking more than you listen.
7. Thinking your ideas and wisdom mean more than everyone else’s.
8. Reading books about “leadership” instead of remembering to serve in obscurity.
9. Staying in our comfort zones instead of going out into the world to serve others.
10. Accepting the lie that “good works” somehow nullify God’s Grace.

Please, let’s stop talking about leadership and focusing our attention on leaders. We have a leader. It’s Jesus. Let’s get on with the task of following Him today.

“Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock.” (Matt. 7:24)

“Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them.” (John 13:17)

It’s not that I don’t believe in leadership. It’s that we already have a leader and his command to us was not to “Lord it over” one another but to realize that we are all brothers and sisters. He modeled one thing to us: Love. He washed our feet and then told us to do the same for one another.

To be clear: I’m not talking about doing good works to be saved. Those who are saved will do good works. Or, as I often say, “Swimming won’t make you a fish, but if you’re a fish you’ll swim.”

Or, as Paul says:

 

“For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” (Eph. 2:8-10)

Our job is to follow our leader. He is the shepherd. We are the sheep.

“Follow me.” – Jesus

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WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO FOLLOW JESUS?

It means forsaking your way of living and your own way of thinking and rationalizing to be like Jesus.

It means daily surrendering your life to Him.

It means enduring hardship and ridicule for standing up for His teachings in front of your friends and co-workers.

It means:

*Forgiving people

*Loving people

*Serving people

*Not judging people

*Being humble

*Turning the other cheek

*Not using violence

*Associating with sinners and the poor and the outcast and the broken

*Suffering rejection

*Giving up on popularity

*Letting go of this life

And, it means learning from Him how to love like He does.

That’s what it means to follow Jesus.

It does not mean:

*Standing up for your rights

*Protecting your religious freedoms

*Insulting people who disagree with you on politics, religion or ethics

*Being a good American

*Voting

*Tithing

*Attending Church services

*Defining “love” in such a way as to excuse yourself for being a jerk

Following Jesus involves a daily surrender of your will and your life in exchange for His life and His perfect will.

“Then he said to them all: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me. For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will save it. What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, and yet lose or forfeit their very self? Whoever is ashamed of me and my words, the Son of Man will be ashamed of them when he comes in his glory and in the glory of the Father and of the holy angels.” (Luke 9:23-26)

All that Jesus asks us to do is this - "Follow me!"

ANTITHESIS: JESUS AND JONAH

Jesus makes an interesting comment in the Gospel of Matthew when the Pharisees and the Sadducees demand a sign from him to prove he is the Messiah.

"An evil and adulterous generation seeks for a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of Jonah.” So he left them and departed." (Matthew 16:4 ESV)

Now, of course, we know that what Jesus meant by "the sign of Jonah" was that he would spend three days in the tomb and raise from the dead, just as Jonah was three days in the belly of the great fish. But, Jesus doesn't explain this to them here. He just makes the statement and then "he left them and departed".

I started to wonder what they may have understood him to mean by "the sign of Jonah" since it could mean anything. As I began to speculate on how they might have received the words of Jesus here I realized something fascinating about Jonah and Jesus - They are absolute opposites.

Jonah was a reluctant prophet. Jesus willingly left the splendor of heaven and humbled himself to become one of us - even submitting himself to death upon the cross. (see Philippians 2:5-11)

Jonah was sent to a pagan land. Jesus was sent to the House of Israel. (See Matthew 15:24)

Jonah was sent to proclaim a message of judgment and doom. Jesus was sent to deliver "Good News" of blessing that the Kingdom of God was coming to Earth. (See Luke 4:18)

Jonah's message was received with repentance which resulted in mercy. Jesus' message was received with opposition that resulted in his crucifixion and the destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple in AD 70. (See Luke 19:41-44; Matthew 24:1-28)

So, Jesus and Jonah couldn't be more different. They were sent to different people with different messages that were received in divergent ways with radically different results. Sort of like when you press a signet ring into soft clay or wax and the impression left behind reflects the empty spaces of the original.

It kind of makes me wonder if the "Sign of Jonah" isn't about more than just the resurrection of Christ. Maybe Jesus left this illustration unexplained so that those he left behind could meditate on Jonah and perhaps see Jesus in the negative space.

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TO LOVE IS TO DIE TO SELF

According to Jesus, all of the Law can be summed up in just two simple commands, “Love God” and “Love others as you love yourself.” This means that whenever we break the Law, or sin, we are essentially failing to love either God or our fellow man. (See Matthew 22:37-40)

Jesus also suggests that the two commands are connected; "...and the second is like the first..."; which would mean that if we don’t love God then we won’t love others, and if we don’t love others then we’re not really loving God either. (see 1 John 4:20)

Whenever we sin, we’re misdirecting our love for God and others and we’re aiming it at ourselves. Because we love our own pleasure more than we love our spouse we look at pornography. Because we love our own comfort more than we love the homeless we keep on walking and pretend not to see them. Because we love our own reputation more than we love our co-worker we keep our mouth shut whenever someone asks us about our faith.

Our ultimate failure, then, is that we love our own comfort, and reputation, and pleasure, more than we love other people. It's not even so much that we're not loving when we sin, it's really just that our love is self-focused and not aimed at God or at those around us.

This is why Jesus tells us that it is impossible for us to follow Him and become one of His disciples if we do not first learn to daily practice death to self. (see Luke 9:23) Why? Because as long as our love for our own pleasure and comfort and reputation is pulsing through our veins, we cannot even begin to love God - or to love others - the way Jesus commands us to. It just can’t work.

Lately I’ve been sensing a need to locate that old cross of mine again and to lift it up on my shoulders before I leave the house each day. I think it might be under the bed, or maybe in the hall closet. Hopefully it’s not up in the attic or in the garage (then I’ll never find it again). But I do know that if I don’t get back on my knees again and wedge that cross against my shoulder every day, and lift the weight and feel those splinters in my hands again, I will never learn what it means to be a follower of Jesus. I’ll never be able to love God or to love other people the way Jesus does without dying to myself daily. There’s no other way.

"The way of the cross leads home. The way of the cross leads home. It is sweet to know as I onward go. The way of the cross leads home." - Jessie B. Pounds (1906)

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What is "Sound Doctrine"?

You've probably heard teachers and preachers talk about the need for "sound doctrine" in today's church. Usually, this "sound doctrine" happens to mirror a denominational statement of faith ratified years ago and enforced by church leadership, (deacons, elders, etc.), and reinforced through church membership classes and sometimes even Sunday School classes.

But, what is "sound doctrine" according to the Word of God? Shouldn't we take whatever standards there may be for "sound doctrine" from the Scriptures themselves?

Here's what Paul had to say about "sound doctrine" when he wrote to the apostle, Titus:

"You, (Titus) however, must teach what is appropriate to sound doctrine." - Titus 2:1

See? Obviously Paul knew that it was very important to teach sound doctrine in the Church. Luckily for us, Paul breaks down the elements of this sound doctrine for us here:

"Teach the older men to be temperate, worthy of respect, self-controlled, and sound in faith, in love and in endurance. Likewise, teach the older women to be reverent in the way they live, not to be slanderers or addicted to much wine, but to teach what is good. Then they can urge the younger women to love their husbands and children, to be self-controlled and pure, to be busy at home, to be kind, and to be subject to their husbands, so that no one will malign the word of God." - Titus 2:2-5

Wait. So, let me get this straight. Paul says that sound doctrine is all about being self-controlled, loving, patient and full of faith? Huh. I was expecting more like rules and laws and stuff. Wait, let's see what he says after this part. Maybe the rules and laws come later:

"Similarly, encourage the young men to be self-controlled. In everything set them an example by doing what is good. In your teaching show integrity, seriousness and soundness of speech that cannot be condemned, so that those who oppose you may be ashamed because they have nothing bad to say about us."- Titus 2:6-8

Ok. So, sound doctrine seems to be more about how we live our lives before one another. It's like, setting examples for one another by doing good, showing integrity, speaking truthfully, living a simple, decent life before men. That's....shocking. So is the next part:

"Teach slaves to be subject to their masters in everything, to try to please them, not to talk back to them, and not to steal from them, but to show that they can be fully trusted, so that in every way they will make the teaching about God our Savior attractive." - Titus 2:9-11

Ok, then. So, slaves should continue to serve their masters in humility, show that they can be fully trusted and in so doing, "they will make the teaching about God our Savior attractive." Wow. Paul's goal here seems to be more about living out a sincere, authentic faith before the world than in any personal piety or in following rules and laws. Maybe he gets to the part about infant baptism or the pre-millenial kingdom in this last part? Let's see:

"For the grace of God has appeared that offers salvation to all people. It teaches us to say “No” to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age, while we wait for the blessed hope—the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good." - Titus 2:11-14

Whoa. Now Paul has started to jack up the whole idea of Grace too. Here he says that Grace teaches us to say "No" to ungodliness and worldly passions. I thought Grace was there to give us a pass when we say "Yes" to our worldly passions. Right? Hmm...maybe not. Again, Paul seems to teach here that Grace empowers us to live out the Sound Doctrine of living self-controlled, upright and godly lives.

"These, then, are the things you should teach." - Titus 2:15

Really? Well....ok, then. Let's all start teaching "Sound Doctrine" as Paul outlines it for us here. We are called to teach one another to live simple, humble, godly lives of service, love, compassion and integrity before one another and to the world around us. How? By the power of Grace that "teaches us to say 'No' to ungodliness and worldly passions."

If our churches today would major on sound doctrine like this and not divide over stupid disagreements about the return of Christ, or over doctrines of tongues or the rapture, or predestination, or any other superficial topic, we might actually live out true sound doctrine as Paul describes.

Disputes over doctrines come because we allow them to become more important to us than our unity in Christ.

What is it makes us one? Christ! Not our agreements about infant baptism, or freewill, or pre-millenialism, or the King James Bible. None of that. The only thing that makes us one is Christ, and He is more than enough.

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*MORE VERSES ON BEHAVIOR AS SOUND DOCTRINE:

"If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet. For I have given you an example, that you also should do just as I have done to you." (John 13:14-15 ESV)

"Now these things happened to them as an example, but they were written down for our instruction, on whom the end of the ages has come. (1 Corinthians 10:11 ESV)
Brothers, join in imitating me, and keep your eyes on those who walk according to the example you have in us." (Philippians 3:17 ESV)

"What you have learned and received and heard and seen in me- practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you." (Philippians 4:9 ESV)

"And you became imitators of us and of the Lord, for you received the word in much affliction, with the joy of the Holy Spirit, 7 so that you became an example to all the believers in Macedonia and in Achaia." (1 Thessalonians 1:6-7 ESV)

"For you yourselves know how you ought to imitate us, because we were not idle when we were with you, nor did we eat anyone’s bread without paying for it, but with toil and labor we worked night and day, that we might not be a burden to any of you. It was not because we do not have that right, but to give you in ourselves an example to imitate." (2 Thessalonians 3:7-9 ESV)

"But I received mercy for this reason, that in me, as the foremost, Jesus Christ might display his perfect patience as an example to those who were to believe in him for eternal life." (1 Timothy 1:16 ESV)

"Let no one despise you for your youth, but set the believers an example in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith, in purity." (1 Timothy 4:12 ESV)

"Remember your leaders, those who spoke to you the word of God. Consider the outcome of their way of life, and imitate their faith." (Hebrews 13:7 ESV)

"Beloved, do not imitate evil but imitate good. Whoever does good is from God; whoever does evil has not seen God." (3 John 1:11 ESV)

"...not domineering over those in your charge, but being examples to the flock." (1 Peter 5:3 ESV)

SYMPATHY FOR THE PHARISEE?

I have to believe that the religious leaders of Jesus’ day (the Pharisees and the Sadducees) were both looking for a Messiah to come. Even if some of them were corrupt, selfish and prideful, most of them, I’m convinced, were honestly hoping that the Messiah would come as the Scriptures promised. But when he did come they totally missed him. Why? Here’s what I believe happened.

The religious leaders were expecting that the Messiah, when he came, would be their star player. He would be the All-Star Quarterback who would join their team, wear their team colors and take their team to the end zone for a glorious game-winning touchdown. That was the kind of Messiah they were expecting.

Instead, the Messiah that they got was one who said, “I’m starting my own team. Why don’t you guys join mine? I’ve got my own team colors and I’m happy to let you guys play as many minutes as you like. I’ve even got a wonderful plan to tear down this old stadium of yours and rebuild one more glorious than you can imagine.”

But the Pharisees and Sadducees didn’t want to play on Jesus’ team. They wanted him to be their star quarterback, not their team owner, manager and coach. It wasn’t so much that they “missed” the Messiah, it’s that what he was asking of them was more than what they were expecting to give.

Recently our family watched the film, “The Gospel of John”. One thing that struck me as I watched this Gospel being acted out was how often Jesus’ teaching was directed straight at the Pharisees and Sadducees. Time and again he pointed out their hypocrisy, he appealed to them to believe in him, he pleaded with them to join his team. They just couldn’t let go of their agenda, their vision, in order to embrace his. Because to join his team would be to humble themselves and submit to him, publicly. They just couldn't do it.

My good friend Greg Russinger recently said, “The Gospel is that Jesus invites you and I into His life, not that we invite Him into our lives”. This is so scandalous, and yet so very true. We’ve told ourselves that we have to ask Jesus to come and live in our life, but the Gospels never teach this. Jesus never suggested anything of the sort. He doesn’t want to be our Co-Pilot. He wants to be the Pilot. He wants us to enter into His life and we can only do that if we lay down our lives completely.

Life is only found in Christ. He is the vine. We are branches. Without Him we can do nothing. So, of course, if we want life we have to come to Him and receive it. If we won't come to Him, we can't receive life.

Jesus says, "You study the Scriptures diligently because you think that in them you have eternal life. These are the very Scriptures that testify about me, yet you refuse to come to me to have life." (John 5:39-40)

Before we write off the Pharisees completely, the truth is that many of them actually did get it eventually, including Nicodemus, Joseph of Arimathea, and Paul the Apostle himself.

The lesson for us is to realize that Jesus doesn’t want us to bring him into our life. Instead, He wants us to give up on our life, to lay it aside forever, and to enter into the life that He wants to give us – His life!

“Whoever finds their life will lose it, and whoever loses their life for my sake will find it.” – Jesus, Team Captain, Matthew 10:39

“For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.” – Paul, former Pharisee, Colossians 3:2-4

I hear that Jesus is starting a new team. Want to join?

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FIGHTING THE GOOD FIGHT?

"When troops move to take a beachhead, they do so with the conscious plan that they will sacrifice thousands of men. What if the Christian church moved into the world with the same convictions? What if we had a conscious plan to follow (Jesus) even though it might cost many lives? ...It would appear that before the Christian church justifies giving the lives of so many of its people in military involvement it should look at the greater sin of being unwilling to sacrifice lives of affluent ease for the cause of building the Kingdom of Christ." - Myron S. Augsburger; War:Four Christian Views, page 93.

Counting the cost is difficult. It forces us to look at ourselves with unflinching honesty. It means looking into the mirror to see who we really are without our masks on. It means not turning away from that painful reflection, no matter what we see staring back at us.

Where does the loyalty of the Church truly lie? Are we more passionate for our flag or our nation than we are for our Savior and our God? Perhaps the answer is more obvious than we care to admit.

An idol, by definition, is anything you will sacrifice your children to in order to maintain your own comfort and protect your way of life. What, then, do we in America sacrifice our children to? What is the name of the god we appease when we send our sons and daughters off to a foreign land in order to protect the American way of life?

"And I heard another voice from heaven saying, 'Come out of her, my people, lest you share in her sins, and lest you receive of her plagues. For her sins have reached to heaven, and God has remembered her iniquities'" (Revelation 18:4,5)

What does it mean to be in the world but not of the world? Are we primarily citizens of the Kingdom of God? Or are we first and foremost the patriotic sons and daughters of the United States of America?

The Church is part of a global nation whose citizens are found all around the world. Most of our brothers and sisters were not born under the banner of the red, white and blue. They do not call themselves Capitalists, or Socialists. They are simply followers of Jesus who hold their greatest allegiance to the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords.

To this day the worldwide Body of Christ is made up of former communists, capitalists, socialists, and zionists. We are now members of One Body. We are not properly identified to our Lord as Baptists, Methodists, Catholics, Charismatics, Pentecostals, or Anglicans. We are simply His children. We are His Body. We are ambassadors of His Kingdom, and His Kingdom alone.

The question before us now is, are we willing to lay down our lives for the Kingdom of God? Are we willing to die for the Gospel of Jesus? Do we honestly place Jesus on the actual throne of our lives?

There is a profound difference, I am learning, between "being willing" to lay down your life for Christ and actually laying down your real life for Him.

And now, sitting here at the keyboard typing out these words, here in my 3 bedroom house in one of the richest counties in our nation, I am reminded of the words of Jackie Pullinger who said, "The Gospel is always life for the one who receives it, and death for the one who brings it."

Where is my death? Where is my dying? Where, even more, is the life of Christ in the one who has received the Gospel I have championed?

What has it cost me to preach the Gospel of the Kingdom? What is the fruit of the Gospel of Jesus in my actual life? Am I being transformed daily into His image? Am I capable of letting go of my life in order to receive the rivers of living water that Jesus offers me now?

"Are you able to drink from the cup of suffering that I am about to drink?" - Jesus (Mark 10:38)

Would I sacrifice my bank account to advance the Kingdom of God? Would I surrender my career for the Gospel of Christ? Would I risk everything - or anything - for Jesus?

Would I?

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NOBODY FOLLOWS JESUS (So Why Should You?)

Nobody follows Jesus anymore. Just look around, and you’ll see what I mean. How often do you ever see someone show love to a person who is in their face? Have you ever once heard of anyone chasing a thief down the street screaming, “Hey, you forgot my DVD player!” or witnessed a person who has just been slapped in the face turn their head to offer the other cheek?

I doubt it.

That’s my point. Jesus had some pretty radical teachings. Love your enemies. Pray for those who abuse you. Give to those who steal from you. Lend without expecting anything in return. Bless those who curse your name.

Even the most casual glance at the words and teachings of Jesus will tell you this guy had unreasonable expectations of those who would dare to follow Him. It was almost as if He was trying to thin the crowd by raising the bar so high.

He doesn’t stop there. No sir. Jesus even goes so far as to say that those who follow Him must deny themselves and take up their own cross (an instrument of brutal torture and death). In fact, He says if you don’t do this, you "cannot be my disciple" (Luke 14:27).

No wonder no one follows Jesus anymore.

Now, I’m not suggesting people don’t believe in Jesus anymore. There are millions and millions of people out there who really do believe a guy named Jesus actually lived 2,000 years ago. They believe that He was the Son of God, and God the Son, and that He lead a sinless life, died on the cross for their sins and rose bodily from the grave three days later. Yep. They all believe that. But, those people don’t really follow Jesus, not the way He expected them to.

Maybe that’s why Jesus wondered out loud, "When the Son of Man returns, will he find faith on the earth?" (Luke 18:8). Maybe He knew after 2,000 years of Christianity, we’d just have given up on following His specific example of how to live.

G.K. Chesterton once said, "It’s not that Christianity has been tried and found wanting; it’s that it has been found difficult and left untried."

I think Jesus really did expect His followers to live extravagant lives of love as He commands in Luke 6:27. He wasn’t kidding around.

He’s pretty clear that the kind of love the world has is nothing special at all. "If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even ‘sinners’ love those who love them. And if you do good to those who are good to you, what credit is that to you? Even ‘sinners’ do that" (Luke 6:32).

Jesus was trying to get His potential followers to understand they were expected to model a standard of love that went far, far beyond what anyone living on this planet had ever encountered or dreamed of before. A kind of love that could change someone’s life for eternity.

Once you understand this, it starts to make more sense. Jesus calls His followers to this kind of life for a reason—so we can show those who aren’t aware of the kindness of God what it means to be loved, forgiven and shown mercy.

Yes, Jesus expects us to actually do these things.

Yes, it will hurt.

Can you think of a better way to show those who are far from God that He really loves them, Christianity is the "real thing," and forgiveness is for them?

Imagine a world where we all actually did this stuff on a daily basis.

Would it change the world? Would it change the world’s idea of Christianity? Of Christ?Would it set the teachings of Jesus apart from every single other religious figure who had ever lived?

Isn’t it ironic to think the most radical thing a modern Christian could do today would be to simply do exactly what Jesus says? Yeah, it’s really a shame that no one really follows Jesus anymore. But, can you imagine what would happen to the world you live in if even a few people actually did?

Not only that, Jesus promises those who actually do put His words into practice will be blessed and have life abundantly. Maybe it’s time to start following Jesus? Maybe it’s time to take Him seriously? What do you think?

"Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock" (Matthew 7:24).

[From the book, "Nobody Follows Jesus (So Why Should You?)" by Keith Giles]

Download the entire book for free
HERE

NOTE: This article is part of a lenten blog series started by Christine Sine entitled: Following Jesus, what difference has it made?

The series will feature writers from various sources all sharing what it means to follow Jesus, the impact it has made on their life, and why it’s important to be a disciple of Christ.

Read what others wrote on this topic over at her blog:
HERE