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Do we believe Jesus is better?
I read something recently that I would like to share with you… Take a deep breath and if need be read it twice…
“This is where we come face to face with a dangerous reality. We DO have to give up everything we have to follow Jesus. We DO have to love him in a way that makes our closest relationships in this world look like hate. And it is entirely possible that he will tell us to sell everything we have and give it to the poor.
But we don’t want to believe it. We are afraid of what it might mean for our lives. So we rationalize these passages away. Jesus wouldn’t really tell us not to bury our father or say goodbye to our family. Jesus didn’t literally mean to sell all we have and give it to the poor. What Jesus really meant was...
And this is where we need to pause. Because we are starting to redefine Christianity. We are giving into the dangerous temptation to take the Jesus of the Bible and twist him into a version of Jesus we are more comfortable with.
A nice middle-class, American Jesus. A Jesus who doesn’t mind materialism and who would never call us to give away everything we have... A Jesus who brings us comfort and prosperity as we live out our Christian spin in the American dream.” -David Platt, Radical
Let that sink in for a minute.
When I first read this, it shook me. Am I trying to conform Jesus into my image? Am I trying to make Jesus fit into my life? Could I really sell everything, walk away from all of my comforts and proclaim that Jesus is better?
Am I trying to conform Jesus into my image? Am I trying to make Jesus fit into my life?
The Christian side of me wants so badly to scream, YES! But the worldly side of me questions if it would be possible. What does it even look like?
The questions rolling through my mind are too many to count but somewhere in writing this I know the Holy Spirit is telling me that HE is BETTER than anything in this world. Do I live that way all the time...no, but I want to. I want to be able to say as much as I enjoy “my time,” Jesus is better, I want to demonstrate to my children that as much as I love them, Jesus is better. As much as I adore my husband and couldn’t imagine life without him, I know JESUS IS BETTER.
In the midst of where we are as a nation, my prayer is that we all can spend more time drawing closer to the creator and realize that HE IS BETTER!
We don’t have to worry about what all of this would look like because He already knows. I challenge all of you to go deeper than you ever have with the Lord, ask him to reveal more of Himself to you and swim in the depths of his love for you.
Live a life that shows you know, JESUS IS BETTER!