Monday, March 11, 2013

MONDAY MORNING REFLECTIONS--TAKING JESUS SERIOUSLY




By Steve Dunn

“Jesus doesn't need us to reduce Him to a poor puny Jesus just so people can ‘accept’ him. He doesn't want us to accept him, he wants us to follow him.”
 - David Platt

     We apologize for Jesus too much.  We de-radicalize him and spin him, so that people might be willing “friend” him on Facebook.  We want people to like him. We want people to accept him.

      We downplay that his neighbors in Nazareth were offended by him and his family embarrassed by him.  We placed pictures of him with children everywhere but grow uncomfortable with him whip in hand in the Temple.

      So we wipe the blood stains off of our crosses.  We declaw our apologetics.  We want make him into a Republican or a Democrat depending on our political persuasion.  We quote his words on love and yet ignore his probing questions. We talk about His work on the Cross because the suffering is done so we can avoid the pain of eternal separation from God, but downplay what he taught the night before with a basin and a towel.

       We need to take Jesus seriously and to tell the people the truth. “ Then he said to them all:  ‘Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me.” – Luke 9.23

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