Wholly Jesus

Recently the book, Wholly Jesus, by Mark Foreman has found its way into my possession here in South America.  I'm amazed at the books that have been given me in the last two months.  Before, finding a book written in English that offered encouraging insight to my faith seemed like it would take a miracle.  Good thing my God is big, and I believe in miracles.  

I always wonder about how well Christian culture is presenting Jesus to those outside the church, and all to often I feel like they represent the story you will find below of Christy, which Mark shared in his book. 

The underlying argument is that the church was not intended to be separate from culture, and if we continue to pursue church in this manner "we risk losing an entire generation", using Mark's own words.  

Christy grew up in a global, pluralistic, holistic, ecological society for which she was told, “Jesus didn’t care.”  Her youth pastor told her that Jesus didn’t care about world peace, only the apocalypse.  He didn’t care about the wellness of the body, only the soul.  He didn’t care about the people of other faiths, only Christians.  He didn’t care about art and culture.  He didn’t care about ecology; the planet was going to burn anyway.  And he didn’t care about the integration of science and her faith.  And the reason she could be sure Jesus didn’t care about these things is because none of these things were mentioned in the Bible.  Jesus just wanted her to pray, read her Bible and tell others about him.  But eventually the tension between the real world and this fabricated you-pastor’s world snapped.  In order to be true to herself and her passion about these issues, she had to abandon the other-worldly Jesus she’d known.  Christy is an example of tens of thousands of Christians who have learned to disassociate a thin Jesus from their own wellbeing, along with the wellbeing of society and the planet.

I share this because I feel it is relevant.  I don't believe it to represent all churches, maybe there is only one or two things from this story that you recognize in your own life.  Still, these issues are everywhere in the global Christian community and I beg that all in Christian culture to revisit that which we believe to be the love of Christ.  More and more I learn that people respond to love, many people want to believe in the love that Jesus preached about and demonstrated, but the fact is they fail to find it in human relationship.  It is the purpose of the Church to present nothing other than Jesus.  If we wish to glorify God, with one voice, as is the purpose of the church we must be consistent with what Jesus said and did.  Unfortunately, I feel there are far to many people out there who share Christy's story...

Dear friends...  may we let God's love transform us so that we might see where we are lacking in our representation of God in culture, in church, and in the world.  

I hope Paul's words to the Romans challenge you just as much as they have challenged me:

"Who shall bring any charge against God's elect?  It is God who justifies.  Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus the one who died--more than that, who was raise--who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us."
Romans 8:33-34