"I would never become a Christian because...it seems boring"
This isn't the same issue as freedom (a challenge we looked at here) this has more to do with joy and adventure. The challenge is that being a Christian seems dull. It's grey and drab. It blends into the background. It's not radical.
If Christianity seems dull and boring we have moved far away from Jesus. He could never be described as dull and boring. If we think he is we don't know the real Jesus. Consider the following:
Here's how those who knew Jesus described him:
"Here's a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners" (Luke 7:34)
Those who said this thought Jesus was having too much fun.
What he said and did amazed people and drew crowds. Mark in his gospel describes the sort of reactions he got, "The people were amazed at his teaching" (1:21), "We have never seen anything like this" (2:12), "Why does this man talk like that" (2:7). Though Jesus made no effort to publicise himself, people came from miles around to him (3:7-9).
He did the unexpected: he calmed a storm, healed a paralysed man, raised the dead and even rose from the dead himself.
He provoked a wide range of reactions from violent anger (Luke 4:28-30) to extravagant adoration (Matthew 26:6-7).
His stories are full of surprising heroes and endings. Tens of thousands of NHS volunteers use an app that is named after one of his unexpected heroes (GOOD Sam app)
Jesus has inspired millions of courageous actions, known and unknown over the centuries. History is full of men and women who have lived radical lives because of him. We live in a world that has been shaped by them in many ways. That may be why it seems like Christianity doesn't stand out because Christians actions no longer seem radical in a world that has been moulded by Jesus' life and teaching. For example: it's no longer radical to offer education to every child-though it once was and it's no longer radical to care for those who are disabled- though it once was. At the forefront of these battles for a better life for all, we find Christians.
We may have lost some of our courage and joy and if so, we need to step away from the mediocre and safe to embrace the adventure that Christ has called us to. |Here's what He says:
"If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life, will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me and the gospel will save it" (Mark 8:34-35).
Is that the image you have of what a Christian is? Well, that's what Jesus is calling his followers to. A life that is lived out in Jesus' story. Christians live within the mega story where even our little actions (that might seem dull to others) are feeding into the great plot line of Jesus' loving rule in the world.
Kind of like the woman we once knew who had worked in a aircraft factory during WW2 making parts for the Stirling Bomber. If you had seen her making bolts etc in a noisy factory her work may have appeared dull. But she knew she was part of something much bigger that would lead to Victory for the Allied Forces. She was playing a small but vital part in the defeat of Nazi tyranny.
Christians are called to play their part in the big story of the Good News of Jesus. But looking on it may appear we are just sifting through stones beside a river, when in reality we have found a rich seam of gold. Our most menial tasks because of Jesus have eternal significance.
Christianity boring? Maybe it has become dull. Maybe it needs to recover it's joyful, risk taking spirit.
But maybe you need to take a second look at what Christians are doing and see the glint in our eyes of the treasure we have found. The Treasure that has captivated our attention and calls us to lay down the ordinary and live out the extraordinary.
Does that describe your life?
