Trying to Follow Jesus

I spent the last two days reading Carl Medearis' Speaking of Jesus: the Art of Not-Evangelism, the last two days minus (of course) the time I've spent hanging out with my currently visiting parents, taking care of the boys, doing laundry, snatching the occasional moment with my husband, and verbally abusing the dog (in love). It has helped that Tiny has been having trouble sleeping so I've been getting in a lot of five a.m. reading while he reconciles himself to the fact that he IS going to sleep, so help me... Back to the subject: Carl Medearis. Speaking of Jesus.

Blew. My. Mind. In such a good way. I'm not saying that there aren't controversial inclusions in his writing, I'm just saying read it all the way through before you make up your mind and open your heart to hear what Jesus really wants to say to you through it. For me, I was reminded that the purpose is knowing Christ and making him known, that everything else is just not really that important. There are so many nit picky ideologies that I can get hung up on, there are so many sins in others and myself that I can focus in on and try to fix, there are so many distractions, even good ones, that keep me from fixing my eyes on Jesus. I needed the reminder that, in Christ, there is no Us versus Them. I needed the reminder that while there is absolute Truth that doesn't mean we have to hit people over the head with it. And I needed the reminder that if Jesus was walking on earth with us right now, he wouldn't necessarily be in a church or a small group or even visiting the home of a Super-Christian, but would most likely be seeking out the ones who need and want Him the most: the people we usual brand as hopeless sinners.

There are so many more things I could say about this book but at the end of the day I came away with this: I am trying to follow Jesus. I don't do a very good job of it most days, and I will probably always struggle as I strive to figure out who He is and to really know Him. And if you ever want to talk about Jesus with me, I'd really love to hear your thoughts on Him and share mine with you and I hope you'll be patient with me as I learn and grow too.