Do you believe in a different way?

Yesterday i posted a piece on trying to speak with a prophetic voice which included this status quote of mine from a little earlier:

i’m sorry my words make you feel so bad when there are people literally living in devastating conditions and being treated like absolute adjective on a regular basis.

My friend Rob read it and seemed to really like it while admitting it is the first blog post of mine he has ever read [i’m quoting him in this one so he’ll just have to make it number 2!] and he commented this:

I think that it is important to note that you write the things you write not to make adjective people feel bad, but because you have seen enough of the Kingdom of God as expressed through the life of Jesus to know that a different way of doing life, community, economics, etc. is possible (although painful and slow and it require’s complete sacrifice). [Robert Moerman]

Which i really liked. It definitely captures who i want to be if not who i manage to be enough of the time.

But yes, surprisingly [to some i imagine], my focus in life is actually not trying to make people feel bad. 

THE KINGDOM OF GOD

i HAVE seen enough of the Kingdom of God as expressed through the life of Jesus to know that a different way of doing life, community, economics, justice etc is possible.

i have definitely seen church people get it wrong and misrepresent Jesus and hurt people a lot. i am sure i have been the face of that on too many occasions [especially on the hockey field or sometimes probably on social media as well].

But Who Jesus is and who He calls us to be and how amazing and incredible and life-transforming the church is when it gets following Him right… is the force that drives my life.

Jesus, Who, when a woman who had been caught in sin was brought before Him and the crowd was basically asking for His permission to do the right religious thing and stone her to death, gave His permission as long as the person throwing the first stone was completely sinless themselves [exit crowd]. He protects the woman’s dignity, feeds into her identity but also encourages her to walk a different path as she lives on. 

Jesus, Who, in a society that was typical for pushing so many people to the side as outcasts, again and again and again calls for those on the outside to be brought in and gives them the place of honour. Women and children and Samaritans and the sick and hated and feared. He called them close, He looked them on the eyes, He loved them and they typically walked away transformed. 

i wrote a piece this morning for my Thort for the Week page on Facebook from the book of Ezekiel the prophet, chapter 18 where it talks about people adding interest to loans as a negative thing, as a sin against that person. The kingdom of God operates differently in even the simplest and most practical ways to look after those who are considered ‘the least of these’ by society.

That’s what Rob is talking about. When you commit your life to Jesus then another way is possible and that way is super inviting and powerful and transformative for individuals, families, communities and even countries.

Anything less than that is simply religion and that’s been a lot of no good to a lot of people for as long as anyone can remember.

So yes, i believe in a different way and i honestly try my best to live it out. How about you?