Pushing Jesus
If asked who my favorite band is my answer would probably always have been U2. “The Joshua Tree” was probably one of the first CD’s I ever purchased, and perhaps the only album that I like every single song on it. I’m typically not a fan of religious inspirational type books, but because of my fondness for the band I read “Walk On the Spiritual Journey of U2” and it has given me a new appreciation for the band and their take on what it means to live a “Christian Life.” Today I wanted to address a quote from Bono. He says, “I’m not often so comfortable in church. It feels pious and so unlike the Christ that I read about in the scriptures.” I know I have experienced this same feeling. Perhaps not so much in church itself, but in encountering non-Christian people and their perspective of “The Church.” I know non-believers who view Christianity and The Church as a set of rules to be followed, as a place that is out of touch with the realities of the real world. Adjectives that might describe the religious church are cold, strict, prudish, judgmental. The fact that Christianity is often portrayed this way in news and entertainment media often makes me quite angry. I think because it is so contrary to how I view Christ. When I think of Christ I think of very opposite words: warm, loving, wise, understanding, forgiving. When I think of Christ, I think of a man who was willing to be out in the mud (so to speak), a man who wouldn’t back down from a fight, but didn’t have to worry about it because He was wise enough to outsmart anyone who wanted to be confrontational. It’s no wonder people are turned off when we try to push church at them. What we need to do is push Jesus.