Saturday, March 24, 2007

Crazy, Nutty, and Saved...

I've been thinking lately about the time period in which Jesus lived...I know, random... But hey, when you have ADD that tends to happen...(Attention Deficit Disorder for those who are undereducated, or go to JCC...Wait, I do...) Anyways...I was reading something about the Disciples and how radical they were to follow Jesus, and it hit me...You would have had to be almost completely off your rocker to follow this dude...I mean, come on...All he did was say, "Follow me..." or "I will make you fishers of men..." Fishers of men? If someone today heard that they would laugh in his face...Something had to have moved in these men who would later be called disciples......The stuff Jesus was preaching at the time (30-33 A.D.) was not exactly in line with most people's beliefs...Most didn't exactly think Jesus was the messiah...Jewish tradition says that the messiah will come as a great king of the people and be powerful...Not some dude in a plain robe and the son of a carpenter...So it kind of makes it that much cooler that some dudes just left everything and followed Jesus...That's kind of how I feel it is today...I mean, who gives everything they have (possession, money, their life perhaps) to someone they can't even see? Shoot, at the least the disciples could see the dang guy...(small joke)...Today, it's basically against any common sense I hear about...The world keeps telling me I need money, fame, and no problems to have the perfect life...Well I say that I will go in blind and rely on Jesus if it means I get to live forever...I just want to realize that what I am doing is completely nuts and I love every second of it...I pray that God never lets me water down His glory, grace, and mercy...I hope that you never ever let go of this crazy, awesome, out of this world thing you have inside of you...Thank you God so much for blowing my life into pieces and putting me back together how you want...

"I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me."
Galatians 2:20

5 comments:

Jeremy said...

But whatever was to my profit I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. Philippians 3:something.

Basically...we're complete idiots if Jesus didn't save us. If Jesus isn't my only hope, I'm a complete moron for giving him my life. Why not just enjoy life? Why not take the easy road...get a family, get rich, buy a big house, buy a nice car and live the rest of my life in ease and "happiness?" But the crazy thing is...even though my life has become considerably harder since I chose to really follow Jesus...each second has become that much sweeter. It's amazing how this God of ours works.

Peace out bro...see ya in a couple weeks.

-Seydou

Marco Aurelio said...

Good stuff. Not only was it radical for them to side with Jesus, it was radical for them to side with the other disciples. Fishermen, a zealot, a tax collector, and the Sons of Thunder (James and John). They were from opposite ends of everything from politics to social class. But all of this helps prove that Jesus rose from the dead. If he hadn't, men from these backgraounds never would have agreed about it. And they certainly would not have died for it. Jesus obviously knew what he was doing when he picked them. Its incredible to think he calls us to follow him just like he called them.

Anonymous said...

Jake I love reading your blogs...I just can't tell you enough! You are just wise and I love reading what you have to say! Praying for you and love you!

Anonymous said...

Love that verse...keep thinking my friend.
Rick

Unknown said...

Look, I have one of these things now. Let the good discussions get going, eh?

AY