JESUS IS VERY CHALLENGIING

 

There is a wise saying from the folklore that cautions us. “Never say anything about another person until you have walked a mile in their shoes.” 

 

The older you become (if you have learnt from the blows and bruises you received while trying to maneuver through life) the clearer you understand how hard life actually is for other people. You do not know how they almost collapsed when a relationship broke up, when they had to declare bankruptcy or when the lost an adult child through a drug overdose.

 

If you live into your eighties or nineties there will be many bruises of old battles fought, scars of failures and some limping from the accidents of life that literally blindsided you. Life takes a lot of energy and determination. There is never room to lie down and just give up.

 

This is where I want to say to everyone who claims to believe in God:  my experience of Jesus has been very challenging. This is not a feel-good religion that just aims to make all of us nice people who respect one another. God is no santy-claus god to drop goodies into our lives. 

 

We begin from the very heart of our God. This is the divinity who cares deeply about us humans. To name God is to stand together with God’s dynamic concern for humanity. This God is never indifferent to what happens on this earth.

 

Jesus is the incarnation of the living God. God is personal. God is touchable. God, in the life, teachings and actions of Jesus is very tangible. So many people  have not encountered the living God. They have not been challenged by the question of Jesus: who do you say I am?

 

The real Jesus is all about God wanting to transform the human heart. The plan of God is to move human beings  from living and working only for their own self-interest to living and working for the well-being of others. Jesus wants us to stop talking about ourselves and move out to feeding the hungry and binding up lonely wounds. This is not a feel-good religion but the challenge to become involved in the well-being of your fellow human being.

 

The wonderful consequence of living an authentic Christian religion is that the closer you draw towards your God, the closer you will draw toward your fellow human being. A heart that expands in love for God, is a heart that expands in love for the poor with their many faces.

 

I do not want anyone to ever think that “he’s the priest and religion  works well for him.” 

 

No, I am a fellow pilgrim and Jesus challenges my life to move from self-centeredness to compassion for others; from fear of dealing with some of the tough issues of life to embracing courage to look to the survival of the earth, to the struggles of so many others with drug/alcohol addictions and the burdens of old age. 

 

This Jesus is very challenging and I hope I meet up to the challenge!