Following Jesus: Part 2

Keep scrolling down for part 1.

So God has been speaking a lot of things to our hearts in the past few months and really challenging the way we live our lives. A lot of it was totally new (and a little scary) for us, but when we took a closer look at God's Word and the example of the life of Jesus, it totally made sense! I feel like I'm finally getting it!

And now that we have been confronted with truth, we are accountable to that! James tells us that we should not merely listen to the word, and so deceive ourselves, but to do what it says! (James 1:22)

*I just want to share what God has been challenging us with, this is not meant to come across as judgmental in any way, just sharing out loud from my heart as we think and pray and most importantly ACT on the truth we have been confronted with in the Bible. These questions are as much for Joel and I as they are for anyone else.

First of all, God has really been challenging us with our finances. If Jesus says it is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven and that we should not store up treasures on earth but in heaven, why are we trying so hard to make a lot of money, make life as comfortable as possible and accumulate all this "stuff?!" Isn't that storing up treasure on earth, exactly what Jesus tell us not to do?

God has been asking us to trust Him to provide for us, and challenging us to share what we have with the poor! Giving to the poor now is more important than storing up for us for later. We are doing our best to seek first God's kingdom and His righteousness, which means it is His job to take care of us, so we want to give as much as we can to help those who live in crisis now! How can we justify saving up for a potential crisis in the future when there are so many around the world that are living in crisis right now?

Jesus talks a LOT about giving to and helping the poor and the least of these. But I don't think it's enough to just give money to the poor. How can we help the poor if we don't even know any poor people? Just sending a check to some organization really distances ourselves from them. How many poor people do I actually know, besides the few beggars on the street I see every now and then?

"I'm just not convinced that Jesus is going to say, 'When I was hungry, you gave a check to the United Way and they fed me,' or, 'When I was naked, you donated clothes to the Salvation Army and they clothed me.' Jesus is not seeking distant acts of charity. He seeks concrete ask of love: 'you fed me . . . you visited me in prison . . . you welcomed me into your home . . . you clothed me.' " - Shane Claiborne, The Irresistible Revolution

Jesus said the greatest commandment is to love the Lord our God with all our hearts and to love our neighbor as ourselves. Am I really doing that? Do I really love my neighbor as much as I love myself? If I really lived like that my life would look a lot different. The truth is, I am failing miserably at that one! But Jesus said that's part of the most important commandment. That means making others needs as important as my own, even people who or aren't very nice or may not like me. That means caring about others as much as I care about myself, even if it's an inconvenience to me. That means wanting good things for others as much as I want good things for myself, even if I have to sacrifice. That means having my heart break right along with others when their hearts are breaking.

We are trying to get rid of stuff because we believe having lots of stuff gets in the way of keeping an eternal perspective. How can we set our eyes on the things unseen when our life is so cluttered with the seen things that make everything easy, comfortable and entertaining? I think this one is the hardest for me, I have to remind myself daily that I'm living for eternity, and that this life is like the blink of an eye in comparison to eternity. It's such a challenge to keep that perspective though, but if I do, it makes living here so much easier, especially when I'm so homesick for family, friends, the things that are familiar to me, etc.

I don't think that following Jesus is always radical or dangerous, in fact, sometimes it's quite simple. But it is a constant decision to make the right choice and deny myself. Today, for me, following Jesus looks like being patient with my kids when I feel like yelling because Vienna threw her milk on the floor for the 254th time. Or calmly dealing with Colson when he whacks his sister on the head with his Thomas train instead of freaking out. Or choosing to let Colson help me wash the dishes even when it takes twice as long because he likes to splash and get water everywhere. Or choosing to get down on the floor and play together with my kids instead of always trying to be "productive" and get something done.

But let me tell you that following Jesus is ALWAYS an adventure! It doesn't always make sense, it isn't always safe and it certainly isn't always comfortable, but it is always an advenure.

Life is either a daring adventure or nothing. Security does not exist in nature nor do the children of men as a whole experience it. Avoiding danger is no safer in the long run than exposure -Hellen Keller.