Unsettling Call, Lavish Reward
In this series of blogs, I’m looking at how people may perceive the life and mission of Jesus Christ. It seems to me that our culture has made Jesus into this unassuming, tame, docile, and subdued Savior. He’s become accepted as a wise teacher and meek Savior who would never offend or challenge our lifestyle or life choices. The fact is, Jesus was and is unsettling. He is anything but meek and mild or politically correct or religiously pious or spiritually tame. Jesus cannot be domesticated into a tame or passive Christian life. He’s dangerous to any trends or philosophies of secularism, humanism, or materialism that impinge upon or detract from his call upon your life. Jesus challenges spiritual apathy. He exposes spiritual indifference. As I continue the series of blogs, “Jesus Christ—Unassuming or Unsettling?” I'll dive into words of Jesus that are unsettling but promise lavish reward.
ALL-IN FOR JESUS
I’m convinced that living an “all-in” life for Jesus is the only way to find true fulfillment in life. Note his words from Luke 9…
23 "Then he said to the crowd, “If any of you wants to be my follower, you must give up your own way, take up your cross daily, and follow me. 24 If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for my sake, you will save it. 25 And what do you benefit if you gain the whole world but are yourself lost or destroyed? 26 If anyone is ashamed of me and my message, the Son of Man will be ashamed of that person when he returns in his glory and in the glory of the Father and the holy angels.”
Tame? Unassuming? Hardly! It sounds to me like an unabashed, “I have decided to follow Jesus, no turning back, no turning back.” Our culture would say, “A little Jesus is fine, just don’t get too carried away.” That’s tame religion. Instead, Jesus says…
“If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for my sake, you will save it.”
Our culture marginalizes Jesus as a kind, tolerant, careful, cautious, and good person who should be emulated. But that’s the “unassuming” Jesus. The real Jesus says…
“If anyone is ashamed of me and my message, the Son of Man will be ashamed of that person when he returns in his glory.”
It’s the unsettling Jesus who said in Matthew 6…
19 “Don’t store up treasures here on earth, where moths eat them and rust destroys them, and where thieves break in and steal. 25 “That is why I tell you not to worry about everyday life—whether you have enough food and drink, or enough clothes to wear… 32 These things dominate the thoughts of unbelievers, but your heavenly Father already knows all your needs. 33 Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need.”
The unsettling Jesus calls you to risk pursuing him; to seek, practice, engage, take up, and carry out, the Kingdom of God above every single thing, every single relationship, and every single desire. There’s nothing unassuming about that!
THE LAVISH REWARD
In John 10:10, Jesus said…
10 “The thief’s purpose is to steal and kill and destroy. My purpose is to give them a rich and satisfying life.”
In one short verse, Jesus gives a contrasting view of life—one view is what life apart from God looks like and the other is the richness of living in a daily relationship with Jesus. One lifestyle steals, kills and destroys the human soul and spirit and the other gives a rich and satisfying life—a life where you truly flourish. However, the condition is that Jesus is your first passion; your first pursuit in life (“Seek the Kingdom of God above all else...”)
That, by the way, is why Jesus is a risk and unsettling to people today. It's why they nailed him to a cross. His brand of “Kingdom” is much different than what the culture perceives and offers. The world can only mimic a weak copy of the rich and satisfying life Jesus gives. So, the reward for the risk, for not turning back to a weak version of Christianity, is that you'll find everything you’re looking for in life by going all-in with Jesus! The result: A consistently rich and satisfying life.
PRESSED DOWN, SHAKEN AND RUNNING OVER
Living life each day with the sureness of a Kingdom worldview will give you the peace of knowing what is important and what is not; what is worth doing, and what is not; what is true and what is false. It’s a blessing to approach each day with clarity, sureness and the direction Jesus provides. In his Kingdom, when you step out of your unassuming, domesticated Christianity and serve another person with the love, kindness, compassion, and truth of Jesus, you'll be blessed. Jesus illustrated this in Luke 6:38…
38 “Give, and you will receive. Your gift will return to you in full—pressed down, shaken together to make room for more, running over, and poured into your lap. The amount you give will determine the amount you get back.”
Using the language of a common occurrence, Jesus revealed an extraordinary Kingdom truth. In the days of Jesus, a farmer would sell his grain by taking a measuring container and pouring grain into it. After getting it three-quarters full, he would shake it and press it down so that the container would hold more. The grain was weighed and he received his payment. Jesus used this to illustrate how God gives back abundantly to those who live for him; who are gracious, loving, kind and compassionate toward others. What does that actually look like? Jesus covered that earlier in Luke 6…
27 “But to you who are willing to listen, I say, love your enemies! Do good to those who hate you. 28 Bless those who curse you. Pray for those who hurt you. 29 If someone slaps you on one cheek, offer the other cheek also. If someone demands your coat, offer your shirt also. 30 Give to anyone who asks; and when things are taken away from you, don’t try to get them back. 31 Do to others as you would like them to do to you.”
This isn’t cheap service to others! It looks more like sacrifice. It’s what real “Jesus-love” for people looks like. You can’t pretend to care about others in this way. It happens consistently, only if Jesus lives within you. Only a true faith relationship with Jesus will yield what’ you need to love people this way. Only Jesus can empower you to love and pray for your spouse when he or she hurts you. Only Jesus can help you to bless your boss when he treats you badly. Only Jesus can give you the endurance to go the extra mile with someone who is not lovable. But when you do, your reward from Jesus will be pressed down, shaken together, running over, and poured into your lap! The very definition to fullness of life!
NEXT STEP
1. Is your version of Christianity safe? Is it docile, passive and unassuming? Are you fearful of being “all in” for Jesus? If so, your lukewarm approach to Jesus will receive a lukewarm reception from God. You’re missing the lavish blessing of serving God fully each day. Today, deal with the unsettling call of Jesus upon your life once and for all and seek first his Kingdom each day.
2. In God’s Kingdom economy, when you give yourself selflessly to people, God’s divine calculator adds up your acts of kindness so that the sum total of his love and spiritual riches are poured into your life. Money, prosperity power, position, material wealth can’t compare with the rich and satisfying life of knowing and serving Jesus. Show people around you that the world’s standard of fulfillment is surpassed by God’s measure of blessing.
