Happy New Year! I noticed people’s expectations for 2022 have been more subdued than the ones they had for 2021, and I think that’s a good thing. One of the hardest things to admit to ourselves is that we are not in control. Sure, there are choices we can make that will lead to better outcomes for ourselves and others, but ultimately, we are fragile creatures with ridiculously large egos. 

I take breaks from sharing my writing publicly because I don’t want to get into the habit of writing for likes when I haven’t wrestled privately with things. As I read the gospels, I notice that Jesus frequently drew away to quiet places to pray and encouraged his disciples to do the same. In short, I don’t want to perform my walk with God for others. One of the things that has bothered me for several months is the commodification of faith, and the “getting back to normal” approach I see in several arenas, including the church world. Are we getting closer to Jesus, or are we busy with conferences and concerts? Don’t get me wrong. I have seen churches open their doors to those who had nowhere else to go and expand their food pantries to meet the needs of congregants and people in the surrounding community. There are folks who still visit the sick and prisoners. The work continues. On a personal level, I have been fortunate to fellowship with other Christians although I have not attended church in almost two years. 

Jesus’ call is to follow Him is simple but insistent. Although I have said the following several times, I’ll say it again: Jesus never begs anyone to follow Him. His invitation to draw close is easy to dismiss because we are so often affronted by any suggestion that we need help outside of ourselves. We are our own gods. In one of life’s greatest ironies, I see an increase in greed, selfishness, hopelessness, rage, anger, and anxiety as people insist on their right to themselves. The lie so many people believe is that if we do what we want, we will find freedom.

 

People refuse Jesus’ invitation to follow him because they love their lives too much, that includes church goers. I find myself constantly wrestling with my right to myself. Society tells me to give in, but people become slaves to whatever they bow to. To diminish the seriousness of His call, people have presented versions of Jesus that are emptied of his glory, divinity, and authority. So, instead of the Messiah, people reduce Jesus to a good man who told interesting stories and helped people, or a prophet. Or Jesus becomes a mascot for social justice because He was a man of color who was executed by the state. By making Jesus common, we make him more palatable. What Jesus says about himself in the scriptures runs counter to how He is often presented:

“If anyone wants to come after Me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.” (Luke 9:23)

“Remain in Me, and I will remain in you. Just as no branch can bear fruit by itself unless it remains in the vine, neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in Me.” (John 15:4)

“Whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses His life for My sake will find it.” (Matthew 16:25)

“Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the way that leads to life, and only few find it.”  (Matthew 12:13-14)

Jesus should be presented as He is in the scriptures. Nothing more, nothing less. The church’s great experiment in seeing how we can draw large numbers of people to Christ has failed because we haven’t presented Jesus as He is, the only way to the Father. We have often presented Jesus as another self-help guru who enables people to actualize their lives, and He won’t be common just because we want Him to be. Jesus’ call demands that we confront the lies and excuses we tell ourselves and others. He demands that we stop relying on the prayers of others to limp through our spiritual lives instead of speaking to Him face to face. Jesus demands that we stop making gods of our careers, relationships, habits, creativity, intellect, and addictions. He also demands that we stop replaying the trauma of our past as an excuse not to respond to Him. 

I have never been a charismatic person, nor have I ever been popular. If anything, I have often been awkward, sometimes harsh, and self-righteous though well-intentioned. He’s working on me. Nonetheless, Jesus often uses the unlikeliest people to share His gospel because He’s not sharing His glory with anyone anyway.