Lest in my presumptuous state I begin to make up lame excuses for my pitiful condition as His image-bearer and ambassador to this world, clinging to my favorite,
Well, nobody is perfect, you know... we are just humans...
Lest I skew the Word of God to make Him fit my personal preferences, opinions and agendas...
I turn to the Gospels where I plow into Jesus, front and center, flesh and bones, hair and blisters, always there like a brick wall of down-to-earth holiness, simplicity and clarity of vision, who seems totally unfazed by the insurmountable limitations of my wretched humanity, calling me with the voice of carefree authority to be and do the impossible...
You are to be perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect...
So deliciously politically incorrect...
Unless your righteousness surpasses that of theology students and Christian workers there is no way you'll go to heaven...
...And...
Don't give what is holy to dogs and don't throw your pearls before pigs... (Did I just hear Him calling people names?!!!)
But, of all Jesus' many, many outrageous statements, I find by far the worst the following:
Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you... Rejoice and be exceedingly glad when men cast insults at you, and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely, on account of Me...
I look, and look, and look for just a little wiggle room here...
For a tiniest little loophole... And I find...
None!
And I ponder, and ponder, and ponder who is crazy here....
The world I live in OR Jesus?
Am I crazy?
Or, is Jesus the crazy one?
And I wonder what kind of psychiatric medication and at what dosage would my psychiatrist prescribe to my Lord to help Him chill out....?
Suddenly the seriousness of my religious calling hits me like a ton of brick.
For I am faced with a choice...
And the choice...
The choice sits like that ton of bricks in the pit of my stomach. For I find myself simultaneously irresistibly drawn to this strange Person depicted in the Gospels, and equally terrified of His proximity and Presence.
And even though He could easily overpower me with the slightest breath out of His nostril, He actually simply stands and waits for me...
to make that choice...
free
un-coerced
un-intimidated
no bribe
no manipulation...
A free choice to say 'yes'
or to say 'no'
Knowing that the answer to this question will determine the course of my earthly life and my eternal destiny.
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