Ramblings--Chapters 1 & 2

Thoughts from Chapter 1: Images of Jesus

Yancey writes that “According to Jesus, what I think about him and how I respond will determine my destiny for all eternity.”

This is very similar to what A.W. Tozer writes: “What comes into our minds when we think about God is the most important thing about us.”

I think “what images of Jesus are etched into my mind, what kind of Jesus do I believe in, what kind of Jesus do I live for?”

As I think about it, the image I have of Jesus in my mind is most like that of a soccer coach (I played a lot of soccer as a kid). He is pretty demanding but he’s a really nice coach and he would prefer us to practice by scrimmaging rather than by doing a bunch of drills. What he wants most out of us on the team is to give it our best effort every time out. He’s going to play those of us who hustle, who communicate, who pass, and who play like he’s coached us to play. If you showboat, ballhog, loaf it, or miss practice you’ll find yourself on the bench. But he is always ready to give us a second chance. Our coach wants us to play hard, to get dirty, to have fun. He loves it when we encourage each other and help out if someone else is struggling or getting burned repeatedly.

For better or worse, I know that the one fear I’ve always had regarding God (and also my parents, coaches and teachers) is letting them down. I’m sure a lot of this stems from the way that I think about God…about Jesus. I don’t want to let my coach down. I cannot bear the thought of disappointing Him. I don’t want to get benched, I want to play. I feel that if I were let God down, it would take a long time before he puts me back into the game.

What images of Jesus do you have in your mind? How does that affect you and the way you live your life?



Thoughts from Chapter 2: Life is Messy

The Greek philosopher Plato has this concept of the Ideal that basically says that ideas and essences are eternal, timeless, and are the most Real of all things. Truth and Being are less real for they are bound and determined by matter, time, etc. Ouch, my brain hurts.

Anyway, I’m not a philosopher so I don’t pretend to know what all that stuff really means. My understanding is that when we say something is ideal what we are really saying is “that is the way I thought about that.” When we imagine things they usually tend to be pretty close to perfect, right? Think of a young girl imagining and thinking about her future wedding…everything is Goldilocks—just right. The ideal wedding in your mind doesn’t usually involve rain, family drama, limited finances, someone in the wedding party fainting, a pushy photographer, a baby crying in the back row, tons of stress, the zit that no amount of makeup can cover, etc. No, the ideal wedding is perfect. Everyone is happy to be there, they all got there on time, cost is not a concern, everyone is healthy and looking the best they ever have (thin and tan), the food and cake are perfect, the soundtrack from Cinderella is playing in the background, and you’ve never been more sure about your love for someone in your life.

I’ve been to over 50 weddings in my life, including my own and one that my family went to Hawaii for, and I’ve never experienced the ideal wedding. But I’ve been to a lot that were perfect. Not perfect as in not one thing out of place or missing, but perfect as in “full of life.”

The idea of a perfect person is hard to relate to. We believe that Jesus was perfect. What we mean is “sinless” but I think we often think in our minds that his life was ideal. I think Yancey does a good job of reminding me and showing me that life is messy…even Jesus’ life was messy. We tend to pursue a life without problems, without the mess…but even the most perfect Life ever lived was full of problems, full of hardships, and it was plenty messy.

Think of a model home. You’ve seen the pictures in magazines or Pottery Barn catalogs where everything is just so clean and perfect. It’s ideal. Obviously, no one live there or at least it doesn’t look like that on a daily basis. For sure, they don’t have little kids living there. Where are the little stains, the worn path in the carpet, the out-of-place piece of furniture that you inherited from your grandparents?

I’ve been to Hearst Castle a couple of times. It’s a huge mansion built by a mega-rich guy in the early 20th century that is full of expensive art, customized furniture, gaudy architecture, indoor pools, outdoor pools, servants quarters, libraries, etc. They even imported the ceiling from a palace in Europe and installed it in one of the rooms of the house. It took William Randolph Hearst and an army of people over 30 years to build. Actually, it still isn’t quite done but he’s been dead for a long time and now the house belongs to the state of California as a landmark. Hearst and his family only lived there for a short-time. It’s super-impressive, but one of the things I kept thinking as I walked
around it was that I could never live there. It’s cold, lifeless. It’s almost too nice. I’d be afraid to touch anything lest I break a Ming dynasty vase with my Nerf football. There’s no life there, it’s a museum. Empty.

Sometimes I think we have this “ideal” view of what it means to live the Christian life. We think that it means perfection; total spotlessness, no mistakes, no mess. But what kind of life is that? Life is messy. Even Jesus’ life was full of messiness. We don’t live in a model-home world. Our lives are full of hardship, trials, doubt, grief, pain, inconsistency, frustration. The Apostle Paul even tells us that everyone who desires to live a righteous life in Christ Jesus will face attack. We are to expect messiness. But even in the midst of that mess our lives can be full of blessing, full of the fruit of the Spirit, full of hope, full of righteousness, full.

Life is messy. Jesus’ life was messy. But it was perfect.


(By the way, sorry about the book I just wrote. My next posts will be shorter.)