And as I was watching this movie unfold I began to realize that so many of us want so badly for the "Modern Family" relationship to look like what we see on ABC. And yet more often what it looks like is the family portrayed in this movie, "The Judge." And while many, I am sure, have not yet seen this movie, my guess is that many of us know exactly the kind of relationship dynamic I am describing.
Recently my sister wrote a blog describing how as followers of Jesus there is often an unwritten expectation on people's lives that says, "Get your mess together or get out." And how so often we have ignored a growing reality in the world around us. The reality that relationships are so much more messy than we are comfortable admitting.
And while I do not want to rehash the content of my sister's blog, I do want to shed light on how we as followers of Jesus can turn the trajectory of our churches so that we are no longer running away from the reality of people's mess but are running toward it. Because what I think will happen as we start running toward people is we will begin to see the heart of Jesus forming, not only in them, but in all of us together.
One of the things that is so hard about being a follower of Jesus is actually following him where he leads and who he leads us to. If you look at Jesus' life it is evident that Jesus attracted some of the most difficult people to himself. Over and over in scripture we see Jesus with people who were so hard to love. Jesus always seemed to attract the messiest people to himself.
And this causes problems for us. Because if we believe Jesus is truly living inside us then we have to believe that the kinds of people who will be attracted to the presence of Jesus inside US are the same people who gravitated toward him in scripture....messy people.
My first thought when watching a movie like "The Judge" that portrays people living in such dark places is to shake my head. I realize this is a completely human response where I am appalled that they would allow themselves to be overwhelmed with such hate, anger, bitterness, etc. And yet these people, with all their messy baggage, are the exact people Jesus was actively calling to himself. These were the people that Jesus attracted into his community. So what does that say about me?
Following Jesus will inevitably lead us into uncomfortable situations with uncomfortable people. This is partially why Jesus sent the Holy Spirit, the Comforter, to live within us. Because Jesus knew that the more we pressed into him the more we would be led to places where our comfort would be shattered by the mess of people's lives.
This is why in Colossians 3 Paul talks about clothing ourselves with humility, gentleness, kindness, compassion and patience. He says in Colossians 3:13, "Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievance you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord Forgave you. And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them together in perfect unity."
Jesus assumes that our lives would be intertwined with people who resemble the family from "The Judge." He assumes that the entirety of our lives would be lived in such a way that the most difficult people, the hardest to love, the messiest people would gravitate to us. Not because we are such amazing people on our own, but because the presence of the Divine is living in us. And He, Jesus, has the ability to heal broken hearts, to mend relationships, to form beautiful community out of the ashes of people's lives.
Jesus never called people to "get their mess together." This is the single most important thing you can hear me say. Jesus doesn't want you because you have your mess together. Jesus wants you because you were born. Because you exist. He wants you because he made you, mess and all. Jesus laid his life down on the cross of our mess so we wouldn't have to. Your mess has been cleaned up. And the role of people following Jesus is to stand in the gap and call people to Jesus. It is to go where Jesus goes which is always into the hearts of people who need him most. And certainly Jesus doesn't always remove the mess from our lives. Rather, he repurposes everything about our lives, so that within the mess we bring him glory.
My sister's blog was difficult for me to read because so often I am the person she was describing. So often I have been the one standing above people judging them for the messy lives they live. And yet I have often been the one living in the mess of my own reality and the bumps and bruises of my life that once brought pain have been repurposed for God's glory. I am no longer defined by my mess because I have been given identity in Jesus who has moved me beyond the past. I am choosing to press into the invitation and challenge of Jesus' grace for me. The invitation to accept the free gift of love and identity in Jesus, and the challenge to embrace humanity in all its quirky wonder and crazy mess. Because I believe this is where the heart of Jesus longs to be. The more we press into Jesus and run where he leads, the more Jesus' heart will replace ours and form a people living in the beauty Jesus intended for them all along. And the more I will begin to see the world around me not as some cancerous plague of ridiculous living, but rather as an opportunity for the fullness of God to display His wonder and begin to heal a world bruised and beaten. Let's embrace God and watch....because the mess of humanity will be healed.
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