The Irresistible Revolution, Ch. 4b (p 103-114)

The Irresistible Revolution, Ch. 4b (p 103-114)
When Comfort Becomes Uncomfortable

(1) "Rather than accumulating stuff for oneself, followers of Jesus abandon everything, trusting in God alone for providence" (p 104).

Do we? Do I? How closely am I following my rabbi? "Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal" (Matt 6:19-20).

(2) "...Jesus warns people of the cost of discipleship, that it will cost them everything they have ever hoped for and believed in--their biological families, their possessions, even their very lives. He warns them to count the cost before putting their hand to the plow. And Jesus allows people to walk away" (p 106).

There's this line, "Jesus doesn't call us to the easy thing, just the best thing." Carrying our cross isn't easy, it's just the best. Because there's a reason for the cross, it helps our brothers and sisters. "Bear one another's burdens and so fulfill the law of Christ" (Galatians 6:2). What problem can I shoulder for someone today? How can I make someone's walk easier? Someone at work? Someone in my family? Someone in my community? Someone in Sudan?

(3) "God comforts the disturbed and disturbs the comfortable" (p 107). Classic. May we ponder this over the week.

(4) "I was convinced that what we do is not nearly as important as who we are. The question is not whether you will be a doctor or a lawyer but what kind of doctor or lawyer you will be" (p 108). I love this line. What kind of event planner am I? What kind of husband am I? What kind of friend am I? What kind of disciple am I?

(5) "Somehow I had missed the fact that singleness was a beautiful means of discipleship..." (p 111). "We can live without sex, but we cannot live without love, and God is love" (p 111). This for singles and wed to meditate on.

(6) "We can admire and worship Jesus without doing what he did.... I had come to see that
the great tragedy in the church is not that rich Christians do not care about the poor but that rich Christians do not know the poor" (p113).

When I came back from Korea with my neck injury, I was sitting outside my motel room waiting for a friend to pick me up so I could stay with her while I was in treatment. A cleaning lady noticed I was reading Walking with the Poor, and commented as she walked by, "Nice book."

I didn't know how to respond, and then she was gone. I leaned against my one suitcase and said, "I'm not walking with the poor; I am the poor. One suitcase. No car. No home. No job. No hope of having a job soon because of medical problems. Only a little cash left over from my last paycheck that has to last."

But I had two things that truly financially poor people don't have--rich friends and rich family members. I knew I'd be okay. I had a huge safety net.

Bottom line: People without financial support are my family. Are they my friends? How good am I doing at being their safety net?

I love the last line of the chapter. But I've already quoted too much.