A New Story
I just had lunch with a friend of mine where we talked about the new story of Christianity. It was odd because both of us grew up with the slogan that the message of the Bible can never change but the modes of telling it can and should change to fit each culture. This sounded so right, so good, so easy to defend. And yet, none of us believes that women should not be allowed to speak at all in church (at least no one reading this). And yet the Bible is clear if read directly about this.
So, it must mean the main core of the message of Jesus cannot change. Yeah, that is it. But what if over time that core message has slowly shifted from the power to restore and redeem the earth to something totally other. What if only one smudge is allowed to remain on a window each year…what would it be like to look through that window after 2000 years? I imagine it would not be very clear.
I have been reading through the Bible again with a new look, trying to clear away some of the smudges I think have built up over the years. And it is amazing what I am seeing. More than anything else, I have been asking, “What separates the message of Jesus from any other message?” At this writing, I have come up with two words: Grace and Sacrifice.
Grace seems to be absent from all other religious/spiritual doctrine of all kinds. Grace is that choice of God to give good things we do not deserve or not give bad things that we do. Another way to say it is that the message of Jesus was not laden with oughts and shoulds - it was filled with hopes and possibilities and ways to bring life, but rarely is it full of guilt and “you get what you pay for” thinking. Grace reminds us that God’s love is unconditional - as Philip Yancey says, “There is nothing we can do to make God love us more and nothing we can do to make God love us less.” Grace is a radical concept in our world.
Sacrifice, the very essence of Christ’s death on the cross, is a way of living where others are more important than ourselves. Although doing good things is very prevalent in other religions, sacrifice or the giving up of one’s own comfort for the good of another or the world, is found rarely. Sacrifice is not just living simply or giving away our money, it is orienting our lives for the restoration of a world gone bad. It is choosing to do what brings life for others ahead of ourselves.
A New story of Jesus? Not really. But what do you think? Have we lost our way as we seek to tell and live out the message of Jesus in this world?
- Written by Ed Palpant
August 21st, 2008 at 7:59 pm
My objection to using the Bible in the literal sense is that it can’t possibly be literal. Living in modern times, where we have technology, and (gasp) women voters, it’s impossible to live according to the “rules” of the Bible. If we chose to live by all of the rules of the Bible, we would not only have all male speakers at all events, but we would also have no cheeseburgers or pizza (as they are not kosher), we would have to shun our members when a sin is committed and there is no repentance, and all debt would be cancelled every seven years (which wouldn’t be half bad).
At the same token… YES, grace and sacrifice are an important part of, not only any “Christian” lifestyle, but of being a human being in the world at large. A world without grace and sacrifice would be a disaster. Grace IS a radical concept in our world!! I think that this is one of the realizations that guides my everyday decisions.
September 12th, 2008 at 3:16 pm
my non believing friends would say that grace and sacrifice are not a characteristic that they see in christians. i think if we collectively reflected this Jesus more, than we could start would be more effective at making disciples.
yea!