:: In.a.Mirror.Dimly ::

I have a theory that while many people claim they like Jesus, this “liking” is typically only as deep as becoming a fan on Facebook. And when it comes down to it, whether or not I like Jesus is irrelevant.

Jesus isn’t interested in fans or in acquiring admirers.

After his Resurrection, Jesus asked Peter, “Do you love me more than these [his fellow disciples]?” Jesus wanted to know if Peter was fully committed to him with all of his heart. Even when Peter voiced his love with a weaker term of affection, Jesus made it clear that loving God with all of your heart, mind, soul, and strength was not a light matter.

In one of the parables about the wedding banquet, the King sends his servant out to invite the guests to the banquet, but they refuse the invitation because they are busy.

We receive a similar warning from the parable about the seeds and the soil. Some seeds are crowded and choked by worries and the cares of this world.

When warning his disciples about the coming destruction of Jerusalem in Luke 21, Jesus tells them, “Be careful, or your hearts will be weighed down with carousing, drunkenness and the anxieties of life.”

There are a lot of reasons why Jesus’ band of followers dwindled from huge crowds listening to his sermons, to an enthusiastic crowd waving palm branches, to a few disciples standing by the cross and then praying in the upper room.

In large and small ways, distractions prevented many from following Jesus. Some never took interest in Jesus in the first place due to distractions, while others followed Jesus but couldn’t commit themselves to him when the cost became too steep.

Whether or not any of them liked Jesus didn’t really matter. What mattered was whether they were distracted by the cares of this world or committed to the priorities of God. Those who chose to ignore Jesus and those who followed him both fell into similar traps in different ways when distractions prevented them from loving Jesus.

There are many sins and problems we face, but they typically start or become worse when distractions keep us from Jesus. Anyone can check a box on survey saying, “I like Jesus,” but returning the sacrificial, all or nothing love of Jesus changes how we work, pray, rest, act, and speak.

We’ve seen Christians latch on to enough movie stars, beauty queens, and politicians to realize that we are in the midst of legitimacy crisis. This is rooted in wanting to be viewed as legitimate, powerful, and influential in both our government and in popular culture.

Our situation speaks to not only an identity crisis, but a legitimacy crisis. Are we truly making ourselves and the Gospel we preach more legitimate by leeching on to celebrities?

You can probably guess what my answer is going to be…

When Jesus said that all authority on heaven and earth have been given to him, he was locating the source of influence and power in the world in himself. A crucified Messiah who overcame the world through his death and resurrection leads us down a path that helps us fulfill the Beatitudes today: blessed are the poor, blessed are those who mourn, blessed are the peacemakers, blessed are the meek.

In such a Savior and in such actions are where we find our identity and legitimacy.

The Messiah did not establish his Kingdom by fighting for influence on the top. He did not recruit “role models” to his cause. He initiated a mustard-seed style Kingdom that makes a mockery of our celebrities and politicians.

How can Christians find legitimacy and influence in the world today?

To quote a wise man: Sell everything you have, give the money to the poor, start following Jesus, and claim your treasure in heaven. To be perfectly blunt: we need to lose.

We can’t beat the world at its game because Jesus never intended to play that game. The more I consider what it looks like to follow Jesus, to pick up my own cross, and to die to myself so he can live in me, the more I’m beginning to realize that Jesus peals away all that we value so that we can trust in him more perfectly.

What do we want more than Jesus?

Judging by the way some Christians fawn over supposedly Christian celebrities as their standard bearers and fight for political power and influence, I think we can ID a few things pretty easily. However, bloggers such as myself treasure influence and readership, theologians crave being right, and the list goes on because we all have our idols to identify.

Once we identify those things that we want, disciples of Jesus need to give them up. Stop worrying about them. Stop fighting for them. Lose.

It is only in losing the fading things of this world that we experience not only the intimacy of Christ, but are enabled to speak to our world with true influence and power: the influence and power of Christ. We can’t speak with the authority and power of Christ fighting for influence, recognition, and power at the top. 

Paul reminds us that we are seated with Christ in heavenly places—not earthly places. Let us throw aside all that we crave, all that overshadows Christ so that we can claim our true identity and influence as loving servants of God’s Kingdom who are poor, meek, and peaceful.