BST's Blog

" I like your Christ, but I do not like your Christians. Your Christians are so unlike your Christ"
--Mahatma Gandhi

My wife, Sheryl, waited tables at the Olive Garden while she was in college. She said all the servers hated Sundays and would fight to be off that day. The reason? Men and women dressed in their Sunday best come into restaurants after church demanding service and timeliness (as most of us have come to expect when eating out). On typical Sundays the wait staff would find themselves surrounded by some of the most demanding people they would encounter all week. The tips, if there were any, were usually below par.

Jesus calls us to a Kingdom upside down. It's so different from every message we get from TV, radio, billboards, magazines, and even peers. It has been weeks since I saw The Passion of the Christ and it still haunts me. The image of Jesus struggling through the beatings and stumbling beneath the weight of the cross dramatically impacts how I hear His call for me to carry my own cross. I find that, even on my best days, my instincts betray me. My instincts lead me to be self serving. Jesus says, "let me wash your feet". My weaknesses often cause me to want to find the easy road. Jesus says, "pick up your cross and follow me". I struggle with these things. I want transformation in my life so much that sometimes I don't see how God is using the struggles or trials to bring about that transformation. I don't want to be like the Christians Gandhi referred to. I want to be Jesus to a hurting and lost world.

Oh, Cleanser of the mess I've made,
Your boundless love for me portrayed.
With patience for my learning curve,
By holding back what I deserve.

Oh how wonderful Your mercy is!
How awesome are Your ways!
I come, I come to worship You
for all You've done.