Our Father is Younger than We

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A child kicks its legs rhythmically through excess, not absence, of life.

Because children have abounding vitality, because they are in spirit fierce and free, therefore they want things repeated and unchanged.

They always say, “Do it again“; and the grown-up person does it again until he is nearly dead.

For grown-up people are not strong enough to exult in monotony. But perhaps God is strong enough…

It is possible that God says every morning, “Do it again,” to the sun; and every evening, “Do it again,” to the moon.

 It may not be automatic necessity that makes all daisies alike: it may be that God makes every daisy separately, but has never got tired of making them.

It may be that He has the eternal appetite of infancy; for we have sinned and grown old,
and our Father is younger than we.

- G.K. Chesterton

The Core of the Revolution

Jesus has been, and always will be, a threat to the established order of things. If we understand his birth as a revolution, then we may glimpse the revolution that his life will bring.

 Instead of being born into a well established and powerful family, Jesus was born to a couple of teenagers who couldn’t even stay with their family in Bethlehem, most likely because of the scandal of her pregnancy before their official marriage. Not only did Jesus’ birth turn everything upside down; so did his life and what he taught. You must die to live. You must lose to gain. Weakness is strength. Joy exists in the midst of suffering. Power is restraint. Love those who persecute you. Pray for those who hate you. It is not the strong or the wealthy who will inherit the earth, but the meek. The kingdom of God won’t be given to the religious leaders, but to the spiritual idiots (the poor in spirit). Mourners, peacemakers, the merciful, and the persecuted can all find blessing in the kingdom of Jesus.

This is how love invaded our planet. This is how the revolution began. It’s unlikely, even absurd. But the last thing it should be is boring or predictable or explainable. This should incite passionate joy or passionate distain. This is either the greatest thing to ever happen or the most ridiculous idea ever suggested. That God should come among us as one of the “least of these.” 

 

This is revolution.

If you follow Jesus, you follow the most radical man who ever existed. He marches into the world with kindness, peace, and love, and offers people a whole new way of looking at the world and living within it. His is the most radical message you can preach or live. He turns everything upside down and calls us to do likewise. Jesus is not vitally committed to our comfort and safety; he is committed to the advancing of his kingdom revolution in the hearts of people everywhere.

In talking about what his kingdom is like, Jesus announced, “From the days of John the Baptist until now, the kingdom of heaven has been forcefully advancing. And forceful men take hold of it.” In other words, God is doing something so powerful and dangerous that only those who are willing to embrace it with forceful intensity may take hold of the movement of God’s kingdom. The revolution of Jesus isn’t for the faint of heart or the middle-of-the-road. It isn’t safe. It isn’t comfortable. It costs us a great deal to say yes. We take hold of the revolution by abandoning ourselves to Jesus and letting go of everything else.

Will we choose to follow a safe Jesus of suburbia – who exists to provide us with health, wealth, comfort, and happiness? Or will we press on to find the Jesus of Nazareth, the most dangerous and radical man to ever walk the face of the earth? We want the real thing. We don’t want to worship the counterfeits and settle for less than the revolution Jesus brings. We are moving beyond the unbiblical idea that the primary work of Jesus is giving us a ticket to heaven, and now understand that he is asking us for everything, to stand with him against all that is unloving and untrue in our world. 

Together, we are pursuing this Re(love)ution of Jesus.

 

 

This piece of prose was written by the folks over at the dynamic, innovative church in Southern CA called RockHarbor

The Revolution Begins…

I’ve finally done it! After holding out for months and coming up with all kinds of justifications why I shouldn’t enter the world of blogging, I’ve finally taken the leap into the wild blue yonder. Ya, I know what you’re thinking right now, “Does everybody who starts a blog have to begin with a post like this?” Trust me, the same thought has run through my head as I’ve perused other valuable blogs over the past several months.

Nevertheless, here I am posting my obligatory “hey look at me, I’m a noob” blog for the world to see. Call me asinine, but I felt a transition from the world of all-to-safe, immemorable introspection to the realm of immortalized insight we call the “Blogosphere”, to be a necessary evil. This proverbial “first post” serves as my inaugural entrance into the world of blogging (ironically, only hours before our next president makes an entrance of his own).

Don’t let me confuse you, I’m not arrogant enough to imagine that the world waits with bated breath for this post. However, I will commemorate this moment for my own benefit as a leader and therefore—lifelong learner.

The moment I stop learning is the moment I stop leading.

So my hope is that some of you have stumbled upon this blog, not so my ego can be uplifted, but so that your hearts and minds may be encouraged. Perhaps you live by a similar code of continual learning. My perspective may be small in comparison to the great men and women we look to. Yet, what I have, I will give. As we dive into Re(love)utionary Reflections, we’ll look at topics and insights central to leadership, relationship, humanity, and life. In the months and years to come, I look to contribute faith, hope, and love to a global community of individuals searching for just that.

So I guess I better shut up and get started huh?