From Kenny Maths
This sensational manifesto (hat tip to Mike Todd) is better than most entire books I've consumed in the past 5 years. The whole list is great - two of my favs are:
Treasure broken-ness. Our broken places are sacred spaces in our heart. Honour them. Value them. In doing so you love the unlovely, publicly declaring the beauty of God's image in everyone. Greet the broken with comfort and cool water.
Stop pretending. I'm a Christian, and I suck. So do you. Let's get that out of the way, shall we?
Reading this got me thinking about what it means to follow. I follow Jesus for three reasons
- He says to - For a major religious figure, Jesus actually spent very little time making commands with those who followed him. Late in his time with his followers, there is a wonderful story where Jesus simply says:
And then he commanded, "Follow me."
- I want to - because my life has been transformed and is being transformed by that following.
- We need to - I follow Jesus among other followers, either formally in a church or informally, because our shared faith provides a place to collapse upon God and one another.
As a person struggling to follow, I've found myself experiencing following in two very different ways.
From Boered
Many times in my life, I've longed to follow a narrow pre-defined path. Whether that desire comes from obedience, exhaustion, trust or confusion, I often find myself wanting to be shepherded - giving myself over to the guidance of God. Being a pack, moving to the voice or gestures of someone who comes before us - there is something that is comforting about following in this way.
From Nádasdy
Every once in a while, I find the experience of following to be more like dancing. Holding tight to a loved one - moving in and out the consciousness of where our feet should go. In these moments of following as dance, there is a shared aspect to following, to my body shifting as i sense how the Incarnate God is flowing.
I must confess - I am a horrible dancer. I am also a very bad sheep - I actually have difficulty riding in a car when I am not driving. Most days, my brain tells me that I fall short of what I hope following Jesus would be like. But the body of my life and the life I share with others tells me that following Jesus is more like a herd walking thru a meadow or a glorious waltz than it is like some type of systems diagnostics.
I follow Jesus - and today I am so very thankful for that Shepherd & that Dancer.
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