Uncomfortable

Oh hey there Thursday!

I'm so glad you are here!

The hubby will be home soon and I get wait to spend the weekend with him.

I was thinking the other day how lucky we are to live in the United States. Actually words like spoiled and ungrateful came to mind first because we totally take our situation for granted. Anything we want to do is at our fingertips.

Most of you reading have nice warm homes on cold nights, or nice cool homes on warm days, you clearly have access to the World Wide of Webs- probably on your phone/laptop/desktop/other techy device, more clothes than you need in your closet and I bet you have a fridge full of food too?

 Yeah, me too.

I picked up a book earlier this week and almost wished I hadn't.

It's called The Irresistible Revolution: living as an ordinary radical . And you must pick this up, and read it. 

Like, really.

Strangely enough, it was ME who opened up my wallet back in June while we were in Illinois and bought this book for my hubby. We were at Willow Creek Community Church, a church I used to attend when I lived in IL. 

Don't let the title confuse you, this community church? It sits on 150 acres and has over 20,000 members. It also houses the largest Food Pantry in the Cook County area- which says a lot because the city of Chicago- somewhere around population 3 million give or take, is in Cook County.

The author, Shane Claiborne was there that Sunday, speaking about his community and a new book they had written. And when I say community in reference to him, well he lives in a home with other people. And they live among homeless people and serve them. They choose to do this. 

Live in the same home. 

Share money, and cars and meals. Can you wrap your head around that? 

Because I can't.

So back to my purchase. I bought it for the hubby, who probably read it a month later. And as he would talk to me about what he was reading, I didn't really absorb it. I couldn't quite get the feel of what this Shane Claiborne was really in to. Spending time with Mother Teresa, interning at Willow Creek, living in a christian hippy commune, serving the least, the last and the lost? 

Ummm, ok.

So here it is the middle of September, and last night- last night folks, I open my cabinet full of mugs and pick from about 10 different flavors of tea ( you know, depending on my mood) and I pick up this book and start reading.

I.could.not.stop.reading.

Do you ever find a read like that?

 Where it's so, so good you have to keep reading?!

Except this book felt like God himself was reading it to me.

Not really, but kind of.

Stay with me here.

This regular guy from East Tennessee  has seen and done so much on his own, he has helped so many people, he has dove into the Bible and felt what God is/was really telling all of us.

God tells us over and over in the Bible that true discipleship will cost us everything. Everything! Our biological families, possessions, even our lives.

Let me tell you, I started feeling really uncomfortable. Sitting in my house, on my comfy couch, with my Netflix Fireplace in the background, sipping my tea- I knew God was telling me something. 

I just didn't know what yet.

Shane talks about a teacher he had in college who says "Jesus never says to the poor, Come find the church, but he says to those of us in the church, Go into the world and find the poor, hungry, homeless, imprisoned, the Jesus' in his disguises."

I started getting goose bumps. 

And here came that uncomfortable feeling again.

God tells us again and again give up everything we own and give to the poor.

And what am I doing? Ummm, not much.

Sure I tithe and donate money to a few good causes.

And oh yeah, we donate our clothes we no longer wear/fit into to the Salvation Army. 

So that should count right?

Maybe.

Shane also brings this to light to another matter- When we gave up our sins and invited Jesus into our hearts, the old us died. At least it should have. We now have Jesus living inside of you and me, walking the earth. And because of this we should be able to do greater things because the love that lived in the radical Christ now lives within millions of ordinary radicals all over the planet.

Whoa.

What would really happen if we ALL lived as if WE no longer lived, but only Jesus lived in us???!!!

Ok, now I'm really uncomfortable.

I don't know about you- well ok, yes I do. We don't like being told we are doing wrong do we? It gets me in a bad mood, real quick. Just ask my hubby.

So when I'm reading a book that is telling me I'm not doing enough, and that my old self should have died when I invited Jesus into my heart- I had to pause for a little bit and let all that soak into this dried up sponge.

They didn't teach me this in Sunday School, and if they did, I more than likely thought I was too cool to hear it.

But here I am approaching 31, and I have mostly lived a stale Christianity.

Ok, so I've come to terms with that and talked to God about it.

But now what?

Are me and the hubs and Charlie going to pack up and move to the slums of India like Mother Teresa and become friends with the lepers?

Oh man, this is getting tough.

Some of you will probably read this and think huh? What happened to her? She's gone off the deep end.

My mother is probably thinking OMG- she's already bought a one way ticket to India.

No mom, not  yet anyway.

The even sadder part to me is that I should have been digesting this while reading the Bible, but it took a fellow Christian to write a book and throw it in my face.

 And believe me, I'm thankful.

We are the body of Christ, the hands and feet of Jesus to the world.

It's time for us to stop living among our stuff and get real. 

And that's going to look different for all of us. I can't say what you should do, I only know what the Bible is telling me to do and if we're reading the same Bible, well then you can figure that out.

I think this post is a little out there for me. But you know, I like it. I don't usually want to get on a soap box or throw anything in your face- but how could I read this book and not share it?

Our life here on earth is temporary, but if you have asked Jesus into your heart and have taken the free gift the savior has given, then we will spend eternity in heaven.

I pray that this post has reached who it needed. At the very least, read the book. 

Or when I'm done, you can borrow mine:)

If you've already read this book, tell me what you thought?

Are you turned upside down not too?