I wonder what someone would look like, sound like, be like if they were just about "being with Jesus" and not about "everything else" in the culture of Christianity, or even Evangelical Christianity or especially even charismatic or postmodern or emergent Christianity. Hey, if I'm about to spread buckshot, I might as well spread it evenly! :)
In the blogosphere, as well as in Christianity at large, it seems important to have a niche and be properly labeled, like it used to be in high school. Only now we don't grow out of labeling, we develop it until it glows supremely in the dark. This makes some folks "in," some way "out," some "slithering reptiles," some "adorable rodents," some just regular folks and some, well, "wascally wabbits." Y'all are just too funny.
Where would the apostle Paul land in today's dog pile? At http://mars-hill.blogspot.com? Where would John? (I guess they never did get a decent ISP on Patmos, which left him lots of time to experience and record the Book of Revelation... I begin to rest my case!) More importantly, where would Jesus be found as He waits for His Bride without spot or wrinkle?
As I have tried to make my way into the exploding world of the Christian blog sphere I find it a not-so-miniature and completely ready for prime-time version of modern day Christianity in all its vast (dis)array. I find unlikely bedfellows everywhere: little bubbles of people here, large balloons of people there with cross alliances that put the cast of Survivor to shame. I see lots of politics and faith: Republicans and "of course" kind of faith; other-than-Republicans and "we're Christians, too," kind of faith. Sorry, I just "calls them as I sees 'em". But wouldn't it be a great testimony to have one long, long blogroll of people who "just follow Jesus wherever He goes", no further labels?
I see people who once were A's and then became Z's now becoming reformed M's or maybe Emergently Reformed AMZ's which is nothing like the AoG (Rich?) because of their more "modern" redemption theology which puts them all the way back to being nearly Catholic because of an alliance made with the ZMA schism which broke off of the Episcopal sector, American side, that is.
I'm suddenly humming, "What if God were one of us, .... just a stranger on a bus, trying to make His way"....well, around what everyone is claiming to be His kingdom or His blogdom. It is very easy to try and make God in our own image. But God is an Image Smasher and a good One at that. "And you thought I was just like you" (Psalm 50:21).
I still want to know what someone would look like if they just worked on developing mature, deep and intimate relationship with Jesus? You know, just loved God with all their heart, soul and mind? No politics except those of the Lord's Prayer, not able to discuss theology until it had been made flesh in them: simple, unadorned relational faith. You know, "hearts strangely warmed." A radical, seemingly quaint thought, and one that might produce poor blogshares ratings and no feed subscriptions at all. :( When Jesus returns, will He find faith in the blogosphere?
God deserves our wholehearted attention: every ounce of who we are. Maybe we all won't, and aren't meant to, look exactly the same cloned way once we give Him our "all and everything," but maybe we all would look a bit more like Him or what He is looking for in His Bride. I'm hopelessly old-fashioned, I know. But God never changes and that makes Him more eons more old-fashioned then me. He seems keep telling us, "Do justly, love mercy, walk humbly with God" (Micah 6:8). What do you think?
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