I was deeply impacted this week by a simple WhatsApp message: "Thank you everyone for your warm welcome and accepting my son and i into ur big family".
It's so special because it was sent by a young, unmarried, single mom after her unmarried, single mom friend (they met at a pregnancy crisis shelter) from one of our missional church communities reached out to her.
One of the major things continually impressed on me this year is how IRRELIGIOUS Jesus was.
Take Jesus' first miracle. In chapter 2 of John's book in the Bible (the Bible is actually a compilation of books and letters):
So what happened here?
1. Jesus not only made wine, He made LOTS of it. Each jar was 20-30 gallons. That's 454-681 litres! I guess the Author and Finisher of our faith wouldn't be welcome, let alone be allowed to lead in many christian organizations.
2. He didn't just turn regular water into wine, He turned "Holy Water" into wine. Talk about killing sacred cows!
Jesus often violated religious norms and did things that would be considered taboo or forbidden - healing on the Sabbath, eating and drinking with sinners, mixing with the "bad" crowd; prostitutes, tax collectors, Samaritans (a despised people group).
Why did Jesus constantly and deliberately provoke the religious establishment through incessant violation of what we would consider good judeo-christian behavior?
I believe it's because setting us free from religiosity and legalism is key to true salvation.
We can never be truly and completely "saved"; set free from the LAW of sin and death, until we truly realise that our self-righteousness is filthy rags (that's sanitary cloths aka menstrual pads) before God.
"As a dog returns to its vomit, so a fool repeats his foolishness" - Proverbs chapter 26, verse 11
It is vital for us to realize that much of the christianity taught and practiced today is repeating the very foolishness and religious filth that Jesus opposed. Jesus' open confrontation of the religious leaders and systems led to his condemnation and crucifixion by the same religious leaders who felt He threatened their entrenched, man-made system of false authority, power and control.
History is repeating itself in many churches today who claim to follow God, but in reality are worshipping sacred cows instead of Christ. The result is sacred institutions that reject sinners - the complete opposite of Jesus who came for sinners.
Mark chapter 2 tells of Jesus eating at Levi's house:
Levi invited Jesus and his disciples to his home as dinner guests, along with many tax collectors and other disreputable sinners. (There were many people of this kind among Jesus’ followers.) But when the teachers of religious law who were Pharisees saw him eating with tax collectors and other sinners, they asked his disciples, “Why does he eat with such scum?”
When Jesus heard this, he told them, “Healthy people don’t need a doctor—sick people do. I have come to call not those who think they are righteous, but those who know they are sinners.”
If we are really disciples of Christ, then we should be known as people whom "disreputable sinners" like to hang out with. Similarly, a healthy church is one that is in the thick of the harvest field, in the midst of what Pharisees would consider scum.
Conversely, a church which is centered around a "service" or building where people are expected to conform and put on their "Sunday Best" is in outright rebellion against Jesus. I would even venture to say that these practices have root in an anti-Christ spirit.
Is your personal and church life lived in the artificial silo of a sacred sanctuary? Do sinners (aka regular people aka everyone in the world!) want to be part of your life or church? Or would they not feel welcome?
It's time we strip off our religious robes and put on Christ. Once we do, we'll start to see that the lost will be attracted to us like moths to light.
It's so special because it was sent by a young, unmarried, single mom after her unmarried, single mom friend (they met at a pregnancy crisis shelter) from one of our missional church communities reached out to her.
One of the major things continually impressed on me this year is how IRRELIGIOUS Jesus was.
Take Jesus' first miracle. In chapter 2 of John's book in the Bible (the Bible is actually a compilation of books and letters):
- He attends a wedding,
- Finds that the wine is running out (which would be really embarrassing for the couple),
- Sees 6 jars of water used for purification (ceremonial hand washing),
- Turns the water in the jars to wine!
So what happened here?
1. Jesus not only made wine, He made LOTS of it. Each jar was 20-30 gallons. That's 454-681 litres! I guess the Author and Finisher of our faith wouldn't be welcome, let alone be allowed to lead in many christian organizations.
2. He didn't just turn regular water into wine, He turned "Holy Water" into wine. Talk about killing sacred cows!
Jesus often violated religious norms and did things that would be considered taboo or forbidden - healing on the Sabbath, eating and drinking with sinners, mixing with the "bad" crowd; prostitutes, tax collectors, Samaritans (a despised people group).
Why did Jesus constantly and deliberately provoke the religious establishment through incessant violation of what we would consider good judeo-christian behavior?
I believe it's because setting us free from religiosity and legalism is key to true salvation.
We can never be truly and completely "saved"; set free from the LAW of sin and death, until we truly realise that our self-righteousness is filthy rags (that's sanitary cloths aka menstrual pads) before God.
"As a dog returns to its vomit, so a fool repeats his foolishness" - Proverbs chapter 26, verse 11
It is vital for us to realize that much of the christianity taught and practiced today is repeating the very foolishness and religious filth that Jesus opposed. Jesus' open confrontation of the religious leaders and systems led to his condemnation and crucifixion by the same religious leaders who felt He threatened their entrenched, man-made system of false authority, power and control.
History is repeating itself in many churches today who claim to follow God, but in reality are worshipping sacred cows instead of Christ. The result is sacred institutions that reject sinners - the complete opposite of Jesus who came for sinners.
Mark chapter 2 tells of Jesus eating at Levi's house:
Levi invited Jesus and his disciples to his home as dinner guests, along with many tax collectors and other disreputable sinners. (There were many people of this kind among Jesus’ followers.) But when the teachers of religious law who were Pharisees saw him eating with tax collectors and other sinners, they asked his disciples, “Why does he eat with such scum?”
When Jesus heard this, he told them, “Healthy people don’t need a doctor—sick people do. I have come to call not those who think they are righteous, but those who know they are sinners.”
If we are really disciples of Christ, then we should be known as people whom "disreputable sinners" like to hang out with. Similarly, a healthy church is one that is in the thick of the harvest field, in the midst of what Pharisees would consider scum.
Conversely, a church which is centered around a "service" or building where people are expected to conform and put on their "Sunday Best" is in outright rebellion against Jesus. I would even venture to say that these practices have root in an anti-Christ spirit.
Is your personal and church life lived in the artificial silo of a sacred sanctuary? Do sinners (aka regular people aka everyone in the world!) want to be part of your life or church? Or would they not feel welcome?
It's time we strip off our religious robes and put on Christ. Once we do, we'll start to see that the lost will be attracted to us like moths to light.
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