G-Rated Life

If you don't want to settle for a boring life, keep reading. You have been chosen for a Mission Impossible.

Yesterday I saw a casino billboard that said, "Happiness is good food at a good price." There was a picture of a well-dressed elderly couple toasting each other with some larger-than-life crab legs creeping into the frame.

If you're going to buy into that lifestyle (which the casino marketing team would have you do), you might just as well ascribe to John Lennon's philosophy: "Happiness is a Warm Gun." Or, for a little less, um, violent approach, you could read Charles Schultz's children's book "Happiness is a Warm Puppy," and be filled with fuzziness. Because that's what life's all about, right?

Cartoonists, songwriters, and marketing teams all try to answer humanity's question: what is my life about? What is my purpose? Why was I born?

I like good food at a great price just as much as anybody. But is that the meaning of my life? Why do I get up every day? I think we all need to truly, honestly answer that question, especially as believers. The Word of God says that He created us for a much bigger purpose than what we usually settle for.

Jesus said, "The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly" (John 10:10).

I have a feeling He wasn't talking about the buffet at the casino. (Sorry, Grandma and Grandpa Moneybags.) But what was He talking about?

I think when people think about Jesus, they think of this hippie-dippy doormat of a guy who just walked around living a perfect, G-rated life. They think of Him either as an impossible standard that they must, nevertheless, try (and fail) to live up to; or they think of Him as a goody-two-shoes who never offended anyone and did a bunch of good works like, you know, starting a homeless ministry or a food bank at His local synagogue. Some of the followers of Jesus try to do the same. While it's true that we should not go around being rude, and that starting homeless ministries and food banks at our churches is awesome, Jesus didn't really come to teach us how to live in a Disney movie full of rainbows and good feelings.

If you think that's what Jesus came to do, you need to go read your Bible. His followers were referred to as those "who turn the world upside-down" (Acts 17:6). This man taught us that a life lived in intimacy with God was a dangerous, thrilling, swashbuckling adventure that would destroy evil, as well as redefine our identities by the unfailing love of God, which is eternal. And He died to win that intimacy for us.

He's not a hippy or a polished, pressed businessman. He's a king, bro, and He comes with a sword (Matthew 10:34). Not only that, but He's here to draw you into a relationship with His Father that will ravage the kingdom of darkness.

John states it pretty straight-up: The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil (1 John 3:8). I don't think you can get any more plain than that.

He told us who He was that pivotal day when He unrolled the scroll in the synagogue at Nazareth and read from Isaiah 61 (Luke 4:17):

The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, 
     because he has anointed me 
     to proclaim good news to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives
     and recovering of sight to the blind,
     to set at liberty those who are oppressed,
to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor.

He basically told all the Nazarenes, His childhood playmates and elderly neighbors, that He was the Messiah. Ooooh....#dropthemic. Not only was He the Messiah, He didn't come to play around. He came to disrupt their comfortable little churchy lives and bring heaven to earth--like, literally. It's no wonder they wanted to throw Him off a cliff.

I kind of wonder--if Jesus showed up in our churches today, would we want to throw Him off a cliff too? Or would we be so excited by this good news about our purpose that we would drop everything and jump out of our boats to follow Him?

There shall come forth a shoot from the stump of Jesse, and a branch from his roots shall bear fruit. And the Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him, the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and might, the Spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord. And his delight shall be in the fear of the Lord. He shall not judge by what his eyes see, or decide disputes by what his ears hear, but with righteousness he shall judge the poor, and decide with equity for the meek of the earth; and he shall strike the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips he shall kill the wicked (Isaiah 11:1-4).

That don't sound like no G-rated doormat to me. Frankly, it sounds like a king. The King of All Kings, actually.

If you follow this guy, pay attention. He didn't come to earth to start a hippie commune or a sorority or a hobby club. He came as a warrior to take back the ground that had been stolen from His people, to rescue the oppressed and imprisoned, to lead the forces of good against the forces of evil. And this isn't like Star Wars. This battle is no-contest.

And we are commissioned fighters--a people called to lay hands on the sick and see them healed, to cast out demons, to deliver those who are oppressed, to preach the good news of salvation and grace and freedom to all who have no hope, that they might enter into relationship with a Father who loves them. Just as Jesus modeled for us, we are to reach into heaven, grasp the heart of the Father, and bring His love to a world that is broken and stinks with death.

If you're going through a season of asking, "What is the meaning of my life?", I'd like you to take a moment, reread the above paragraph, and grasp the purpose for which you were created.

Jesus didn't come to star in a Disney movie. He came to reveal the heart of His Father through an R-rated death (just check the rating on The Passion of the Christ if you don't believe me).

For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God (2 Corinthians 5:21). Swallow that. Think about the bloody wrath that Jesus endured on the cross; then think about what your Father did to the one thing--sin--that stood between you and Him.

No, it doesn't make sense. But that's how much He loves you: to wage an all-out war against the works of evil. Honestly, against the passion of our God, the devil didn't stand a chance. He kind of got flattened by the words of His lips.

And because he is already defeated, we get to walk in victory...and lead the lost to do the same.

You might say, "Well, I'm not a warrior!" You may feel inadequate, but you already have access to everything you need. Evil is afraid of YOU. That Spirit Isaiah talks about is the same Spirit that raised Christ from the dead--and who lives inside YOU, believer (Romans 8:11).

There are a lot of ways to rub the devil's face in the ground. It may be starting a homeless ministry, as I mentioned before, and praying these guys into the kingdom. It may be literally washing feet. It may be praying five minutes for a friend, or five hours for the nations. It may be leading God's people in humble worship, which the devil particularly hates. It may be becoming a missionary to the Middle East, or praying for someone in line at Kroger. It could be simply making a decision in line with God's righteousness: not cheating, giving money to someone in need, not having sex, joining a small group for brotherly fellowship. One thing's for sure: it all involves intimacy with the Lord through the Holy Spirit, who guides the troops into a battle that has already been won. I've heard it said many times: "We don't fight for victory. We fight from victory."

Why don't we pray for big things? Why don't we seek His face every day with the expectation that He will meet us? Why don't we really earnestly ask for what Jesus taught us to pray for in the Lord's Prayer: for "His kingdom to come," for God's righteousness and perfect love toward us to be "on earth as it is in heaven"?

I think we are afraid to hope for miracles because no one has ever taught us that we can go beyond friendship with Jesus (which is great in itself) and into marriage. (More on that in my next blog.) We are afraid to expect our G-rated idea of Jesus to show up with a sword. We are simply afraid because we don't realize we are already armed.

But "perfect love casts out fear" (1 John 4:18). And no matter what other kind of "love" you've experienced in your life, and regardless of your own ability to love, believe that the Father's love toward you is perfect. (Just go read 1 John 4 if you want to know more.)

Why do you get up every day? If the true, honest answer is anything other than the Kingdom of God, you are settling for a less-than-abundant life, my friend. And I long for you to know the fulfillment that Jesus promised you when He said He came to set the captives free. If you've never asked Him to ignite you with the Holy Spirit like He did for the believers at Pentecost (Acts 2), go for it! You can have as much of Him as you want!

This lifestyle has a cost...but so does a "clean" lifestyle. I don't know what God has called you to do--I can't even pretend that I know the crazy wild plans He has for you. But I can guarantee that He will get a twinkle in His eye when you ask Him, and He'll say, "Ready to have fun?" You see, He doesn't send you out into the forray to watch you get smashed by the enemy. What kind of general does that? He goes with you--and both of you get to have fun cracking devil heads with the joy of your love.

I didn't accept Christ so I could settle for a life of day trips, suburban bliss, and safety zones. I want to destroy the works of the devil too! If I go to the casino buffet, it's going to be with excitement in my heart to show and tell everyone there what He has done for me. I might even pray for somebody before I eat my crab legs. I want my daily testimony to be a refute for anyone who argues that God no longer moves. Don't you?

Disney movies at least sometimes get this part straight: I just can't settle for a life that's less than an adventure. Here's a billboard for you: I'm not married to a 2-D prince; I'm married to a warrior king.

Do I sound like a nut? Good, then I'm just like my King, Jesus.

And that's not my youth talking. That's the Bible talking, homie.

#dropthemic