This week I am preaching in church, and I am going to be continuing on the theme of "Express." I will save the sermon for Sunday, but what I have been digging into has been the overwhelming sense of conflict that expressing Jesus causes in our lives. Though I think we like to speak otherwise, it is just not safe to speak of Jesus.
Depending on where I live, even today, I could lose my life for speaking of Jesus not to mention receive jail time, beatings, loss of relationship, loss of job, poverty and estrangement from others. To be honest, none of the above sounds appealing to me. In fact, it is all stuff I would like to avoid in my life. So, why should I speak of Jesus?
The answer, though I like to avoid it is simple: Jesus makes me human again. Every time I try living without him, I become like a brute beast bullying, lying, cheating, and stealing my way through life. In order to live in “freedom” without Christ, I must live guarded and prideful – never letting anyone see any chink in my armor. I must be all that and a bag of chips, which, contrary to popular opinion, I am not.
However, when I bend my knee and submit my ways to Jesus, I become human again. He shows me what it is to be created like God. I can begin to be comfortable in the skin that he designed for me. To be clear, being truly human does not afford me any rights or privileges here on earth. My life won’t be magically better than it was before. Jesus won’t make me win the lottery, give me what I want, or save me from suffering. Jesus makes me human. And for that, I can speak of Jesus freely and openly no matter what others have to say about me or what others do to me. To live otherwise is to deny my very purpose, my life.
Pray with me that we would be a community that speaks openly and freely about Christ, because he has made us human.
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