1. Jesus spent time with regular people, focusing especially on the downtrodden and those who were going through hard time.
There was no arrogance or party spirit stuff with Jesus. He wasn’t an elitist.
2. Jesus wasn’t afraid to break with tradition.
Man, what a paradigm breaker he was! Of course what makes his “break with tradition” so striking and surprising to many is the fact that he often separated himself from the biblically-minded religious types.
3. Jesus’ chief opposition came from the orthodox defenders of his day, those (supposedly) already within the fold of the faithful.
Again, this is a remarkable lesson to learn. If we fail to pay attention, we place ourselves in a rather precarious position. Keep in mind, as well, that the Pharisees of Jesus’ day gave every appearance of being the “real deal.” That is, they were not–as typically imagined–so obvious in their hypocrisy. Had we lived in that day, we would no doubt have applauded their commitment to the truth of God’s word. Thus, Jesus’ opposition from (and of) these individuals would not have appeared immediately hypocritical.
4. Jesus primary targets of attack were these same religious hypocrites.
In keeping with the previous point, here is another strange but true fact about the Savior of the world. He spent more time criticizing and correcting the people who were (theoretically) bets informed in issues of truth than he did those who were clearly, in most people’s eyes, outside of the faithful community.
5. Jesus rarely felt hurried or pressured in his relationships with others.
Though there might have been a couple of well-chosen exceptions, he was generally committed to spending whatever time he could with people, and he never appeared to use high-pressure tactics in an effort to promote some wooden agenda. Though he certainly cared about the spiritual condition of the people he met, his strategy for assisting them was not overly predictable.
6. Jesus specialized in story telling (narrative).
He didn’t feel like he had to frame everything according to logical categories or present the truth in a tidy little package. Rather, he utilized stories to provide a more personal look at what God had done, was doing, would do. Narrative drew people into a relationship with truth that included but was never limited to abstract ideas.
7. Jesus was the epitome of compassion and love.
He was driven by compassion and a desire for people, many of whom were blinded to the truth and resistant to the idea of following the Spirit into a relationship with God. Jesus’ life and ministry, his choices and decisions, were all governed by a zeal for his Father’s kingdom and for the hearts and lives of the people he encountered.
8. Jesus went to where the people were, unhindered by religiously defined parameters of acceptable behavior.
There was no “sacred vs. secular” with the Son of God. Just about everything was (potentially, at least)sacred. Indeed, it might be argued that the place that was supposed to be the epitome of godliness was far too often the very place where it was least likely to be found. See # 3 above.
9. Jesus wasn’t afraid to speak the truth, whether to friend or foe.
Clearly, this was an individual of great courage. He had the courage to stand against the evil of his day, even when evil resided in the religious establishment. He had the courage to endure the incomprehensible agony of being judged by God for sins that we committed. He had the courage to leave his Father’s side in order to reside among human beings.
10. Jesus often used an indirect approach far removed from today’s evangelical prescriptions for evangelistic success.
That is, he rarely said the things we often say, things like “believe in Me,” “ask Me to come into your heart,” etc. Sometimes, of course, he did say things like that, but more times than not he spent time with people, told them stories, and gently though powerfully invited them into the realm of divine love and acceptance, that is, into presence of God. He wasn’t trying to press for a “decision,” for apparently that’s not the way relationships are established and hearts molded. Though this surely deserves much more treatment that I’m giving it here, it is I think plain to see that Jesus, the perfect paradigm of what it means to spiritually assist other human beings, went about his business in ways from which we could all learn.
There was no arrogance or party spirit stuff with Jesus. He wasn’t an elitist.
2. Jesus wasn’t afraid to break with tradition.
Man, what a paradigm breaker he was! Of course what makes his “break with tradition” so striking and surprising to many is the fact that he often separated himself from the biblically-minded religious types.
3. Jesus’ chief opposition came from the orthodox defenders of his day, those (supposedly) already within the fold of the faithful.
Again, this is a remarkable lesson to learn. If we fail to pay attention, we place ourselves in a rather precarious position. Keep in mind, as well, that the Pharisees of Jesus’ day gave every appearance of being the “real deal.” That is, they were not–as typically imagined–so obvious in their hypocrisy. Had we lived in that day, we would no doubt have applauded their commitment to the truth of God’s word. Thus, Jesus’ opposition from (and of) these individuals would not have appeared immediately hypocritical.
4. Jesus primary targets of attack were these same religious hypocrites.
In keeping with the previous point, here is another strange but true fact about the Savior of the world. He spent more time criticizing and correcting the people who were (theoretically) bets informed in issues of truth than he did those who were clearly, in most people’s eyes, outside of the faithful community.
5. Jesus rarely felt hurried or pressured in his relationships with others.
Though there might have been a couple of well-chosen exceptions, he was generally committed to spending whatever time he could with people, and he never appeared to use high-pressure tactics in an effort to promote some wooden agenda. Though he certainly cared about the spiritual condition of the people he met, his strategy for assisting them was not overly predictable.
6. Jesus specialized in story telling (narrative).
He didn’t feel like he had to frame everything according to logical categories or present the truth in a tidy little package. Rather, he utilized stories to provide a more personal look at what God had done, was doing, would do. Narrative drew people into a relationship with truth that included but was never limited to abstract ideas.
7. Jesus was the epitome of compassion and love.
He was driven by compassion and a desire for people, many of whom were blinded to the truth and resistant to the idea of following the Spirit into a relationship with God. Jesus’ life and ministry, his choices and decisions, were all governed by a zeal for his Father’s kingdom and for the hearts and lives of the people he encountered.
8. Jesus went to where the people were, unhindered by religiously defined parameters of acceptable behavior.
There was no “sacred vs. secular” with the Son of God. Just about everything was (potentially, at least)sacred. Indeed, it might be argued that the place that was supposed to be the epitome of godliness was far too often the very place where it was least likely to be found. See # 3 above.
9. Jesus wasn’t afraid to speak the truth, whether to friend or foe.
Clearly, this was an individual of great courage. He had the courage to stand against the evil of his day, even when evil resided in the religious establishment. He had the courage to endure the incomprehensible agony of being judged by God for sins that we committed. He had the courage to leave his Father’s side in order to reside among human beings.
10. Jesus often used an indirect approach far removed from today’s evangelical prescriptions for evangelistic success.
That is, he rarely said the things we often say, things like “believe in Me,” “ask Me to come into your heart,” etc. Sometimes, of course, he did say things like that, but more times than not he spent time with people, told them stories, and gently though powerfully invited them into the realm of divine love and acceptance, that is, into presence of God. He wasn’t trying to press for a “decision,” for apparently that’s not the way relationships are established and hearts molded. Though this surely deserves much more treatment that I’m giving it here, it is I think plain to see that Jesus, the perfect paradigm of what it means to spiritually assist other human beings, went about his business in ways from which we could all learn.
2 comments:
Excellent.
Thanks!
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