Christianity: Counterintuitive

“Then Jesus said to his disciples, “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me.” Matthew 16:24 NIV

“The astonishing paradox of Christ’s teaching and of Christian experience is this: if we lose ourselves in following Christ, we actually find ourselves. True self-denial is self-discovery. To live for ourselves is insanity and suicide; to live for God and for man is wisdom and life indeed. We do not begin to find ourselves until we have become willing to lose ourselves in the service of Christ and of our fellows.” ― John R.W. Stott, Basic Christianity

Whoever loves their father and mother more than me is not worthy of me.

Whoever loves discipline loves knowledge.

Whoever loves their life will lose it.

Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.

Do not be overcome by evil but overcome evil with good.

Bless those who curse you. Bless and curse not.

Those who humble themselves will be exalted.

When I am weak then I am strong.

The above and more are found in the Bible. Looking at the list and more, Christianity is not a cakewalk. It is not appealing at all! But it’s the only way to genuinely love, starting with a clean slate through Jesus. Jesus loves us first so we can then begin to love. Does it take time? Yes. For the rest of our Earthly lives.

Our Father’s love transforms us into someone who has love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. (Galatians 5:22-23) These things can’t be bought, except with blood. We know whose blood paid the price.

It is counterintuitive for us to believe Someone died for us. A policeman may, a veteran may or a parent but their blood does not save us for eternity. May we remember just how precious we are even when we were hostile against Him.

Musings

A television show was interviewing a strong Christian about the difference between “nice” and “kind.” Nice is being polite, possibly manipulative or just observing certain traditions. Kind, on the other hand, is Truth with love. Truth that sets us free. Lots to think about. Counterintuitive. Jesus is the example.

Prayer

Dear Father,

Our lives are a lesson in loving and letting go. Encourage us to let go of Self and embrace You.  Remind us it’s the only way to have life and to have it abundantly as we go about our daily work, family time and especially our worship time.

Amen.