Why did we wait for Michael Jackson's death to celebrate his life?
This has been the question on my mind for the last 32 hours. Since news of his heart attack, coma and death, he has been the center of every conversation, his songs have dominated the airwaves and he has been a hot seller on iTunes. With as much coverage going on about him, those stuck in the 80's have no reason to think otherwise.
But before 3pm yesterday, Jackson was forgotten about. No one cared about what we was doing or eating for breakfast or what his nose would look like next year. And then he died and he made twitter and wikipedia crash.
Wow. How honored he must feel. "Thanks for playing my songs again and talking about me every minute of the day after I'm gone."
It's like when you're at a party and you leave and everyone starts talking about what you were wearing and the bad jokes you told.
Sure Michael Jackson was an icon, a legend, the real american idol. He transformed the music industry and made a lot of money doing it. He paved the way for a lot of artists. And by all means, we should celebrate his achievements.
Let me throw in a what if.
What if Christians did the same with Christ?
What if we put His name at the beginning and end of every sentence that flows from our lips? What if we sung praises about Him every minute of the day?
What if we spoke of His greatness to those around us?
What if we talked about His death and coming back from the dead like it happened YESTERDAY!
You might be thinking, "Nate, you're comparing Jesus and Michael Jackson?"
MJ would be so lucky.
The King of Pop died leaving us wondering if he had anymore to give.
The King of Kings died leadving us wondering how He could give us life and life to the full.
That is the true thriller.
Saturday, June 27, 2009
Tuesday, June 2, 2009
Starved and Thirsty
I sit here completely full, 100% satisfied. Every hunger pain removed. Every parched part of my tongue saturated with moisture.
I ate at Bucco de beppo tonight. For those of you who are familiar, let me indulge. It's an Italian restaurant served family style. That's right, perfect portions for hobbits and youth pastors alike.
A swimming pool sized bowl of salad, a 12-inch loaf of bread, another swimming pool-sized bowl of pasta so big Michael Phelps couldn't finish 1 lap. Another Pacific Ocean-sized bowl of spaghetti, a sheetrock-sized slab of pizza and dessert to follow.......all for one table.
And then it hit me. No, not that. That most likely won't hit me until sometime tomorrow when it all digests. Something else hit me: Christians to the exact, stinkin' thing.
We eat and we hoard and we stuff and we claim and we dig in and we chew and we bite and we swallow and repeat. We do it with the Word of God. We do it with the forgiveness of God, the grace of God, the love of God, the Salvation of Jesus Christ.
We fill ourselves so much of that truth that we are lying to the world around us.
The message we preach is Jesus Christ is what I need. Get your own plate! If you're lucky, I'll give you some crumbs.
We abnoxiously and selfishly translate Christ's mission when He says, "I have come so that you may have life and have it UNTIL YOU ARE FULL." (JOHN 10:10 WORTHY VERSION)
No.
Jesus was talking about sheep. He is the gate. The sheep enter the pen through the gate: Christ. And Isaiah 53:6 draws this problem: "We all, like sheep, have gone astray." (NIV)
Since we're all sheep, none of us better than the other, I suppose God wants to save us and then help others find the way. He wants to feed us and then help those around us locate the food too!
TO ALL CHRISTIANS, STOP STUFFING YOURSELF AND START SERVING OTHERS!
-NW
I ate at Bucco de beppo tonight. For those of you who are familiar, let me indulge. It's an Italian restaurant served family style. That's right, perfect portions for hobbits and youth pastors alike.
A swimming pool sized bowl of salad, a 12-inch loaf of bread, another swimming pool-sized bowl of pasta so big Michael Phelps couldn't finish 1 lap. Another Pacific Ocean-sized bowl of spaghetti, a sheetrock-sized slab of pizza and dessert to follow.......all for one table.
And then it hit me. No, not that. That most likely won't hit me until sometime tomorrow when it all digests. Something else hit me: Christians to the exact, stinkin' thing.
We eat and we hoard and we stuff and we claim and we dig in and we chew and we bite and we swallow and repeat. We do it with the Word of God. We do it with the forgiveness of God, the grace of God, the love of God, the Salvation of Jesus Christ.
We fill ourselves so much of that truth that we are lying to the world around us.
The message we preach is Jesus Christ is what I need. Get your own plate! If you're lucky, I'll give you some crumbs.
We abnoxiously and selfishly translate Christ's mission when He says, "I have come so that you may have life and have it UNTIL YOU ARE FULL." (JOHN 10:10 WORTHY VERSION)
No.
Jesus was talking about sheep. He is the gate. The sheep enter the pen through the gate: Christ. And Isaiah 53:6 draws this problem: "We all, like sheep, have gone astray." (NIV)
Since we're all sheep, none of us better than the other, I suppose God wants to save us and then help others find the way. He wants to feed us and then help those around us locate the food too!
TO ALL CHRISTIANS, STOP STUFFING YOURSELF AND START SERVING OTHERS!
-NW
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)