Do We Even WANT to be Like Jesus?

About 10 days ago I shared a post called Haven't We Been Here Before? that served as the kick-off to a random new series called Things I Believe (and you probably don't)! This is post #2 in the series, and again, it is a serious one. The next one will be on why gravy is its own food group. Like I said, random! So here we go with yet another attempt at rattling the cages of the institutional church...and my own life...

Steve Taylor wrote many years ago that Christians want to be clones. That could be a good thing. We should desire to be clones of Jesus- after all, Christian means "Christ-like." But Steve's point was that too many in the church want to be clones of the person sitting next to them in the pew far more than they want to be like Jesus. It's safer. It's easier. And it's far more popular in our country today. I agree. I believe that the Church of Jesus Christ in these United States has no desire or intent to really be like Jesus. I know we can't BE Jesus- he was God- but we can strive to be like him. We are called to be like him. Don't get me wrong- I know there are millions who believe in God, who worship on Sundays, who read scripture and who claim Jesus as their savior. But being like him, really following him...well that's just too much for far too many of us. Just let me go to church and leave me alone! If we were like Jesus would we spend so much time and effort arguing about whether same sex couples should be allowed to have committed legal relationships, or would our efforts be spent feeding the hungry and housing the homeless? If we were as radical as the Christ would we embrace "turning the other cheek" over pulling out our handguns to "defend" ourselves? If we were like Jesus would we be less concerned with patriotism and more concerned with the family of God- all of humanity? If we were like Jesus the church would know no racial segregation and we would treat every sin, creed and nationality with equal love. We can never be perfect as he was perfect, but we could be so much better. If we wanted to.

And then there's the issue of money. Jesus said to the rich young ruler that to enter the Kingdom he had to "sell what he had and give it to the poor." Are any of us lining up to do that? Quite the opposite, many of our church leaders are gathering great wealth even as you read this. We have churches that teach classes on accumulating wealth, and others who see material gain as a sign that we are in God's good graces. These leaders also tend to portray under-resourced people as lazy, stupid and beneath them. That is not WWJD! God will be their judge, but if it really is easier for a camel to get through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the Kingdom of God then people like Dave Ramsey and Franklin Graham have shrinking needles. And the humps on those camels are growing larger every day. In this country we tend to pay homage to our God and to worship our nation and our wealth. We treasure riches- you know, the stuff moths will eat, rust will destroy and thieves will break in and steal (Matthew 6:19) according to Jesus. We also love power. We love being in control, feeling like we are somehow above those around us. That's the antithesis of being like Christ. It has been said that the ONLY way to follow Jesus is on our knees. It's about surrender- and we are not fans of surrender. It's for the weak. Well guess what- so is Jesus. And anyone- ANYONE- who chooses hate over love, power over humility, aggression over peace and the flag over the cross is not going to "be like Jesus." We fool ourselves because we can be like the people in the pews and still make those choices. But that is not like the Christ. Jesus was inclusive, forgiving and sacrificial. So that's the bottom line for us all. Do we fit that definition? Or are we happy with the Jacob's Ladder description of faith? "Sing along, send some money and join the chosen few..."

So how do we become more like the One we claim to follow? He already told us. Be humble. Don't judge. Be a peacemaker. Be a servant. Take care of the sick, the downtrodden, the prisoners and those who don't think like us. Give up what we think is important and recognize that whatever the question, love is the answer. For too many years the church has buried itself in political issues, power and judgement, wanting people to be like US more than we want them to be like Jesus. It's time to quit playing church and BE the church. And the only way to do that- the ONLY way- is to be like Jesus. Do we want it? I remain unconvinced...

Because of Jesus,