Yesterday, while enjoying some tacos with some students at a local high school, I came across a kid named Mikey who could cuss up a storm like no other. I admit, being around people who curse makes me a bit uncomfortable. I think it is because I used to curse a lot in high school myself, and I can pinpoint times in my life where God has helped me “clean up my act.” But the more I hear him drop f-bombs, the more I realize that this is the kind of kid that I do want to get to know and I do want to hang out with.
Incarnation is a pretty big seminary word we like to throw around at Fuller. But what the crap does it really mean? The idea comes from God coming down in human form, Jesus, to come to us, to meet us on our turf, to share with us the gospel. What does that mean to us? Maybe we need to stop inviting people to church and instead be the church to them, be Jesus to them, on their terms, on their time, on their grounds. Because some people, no matter how hard you coerce them, will never go to church. Those are the people who need Jesus the most.
If we are to truly embrace a theology of the incarnation, we must go where we are uncomfortable.
From the fiery tongue of Luther:
“The Kingdom is to be in the midst of your enemies. And he who will not suffer this does not want to be of the Kingdom of Christ; he wants to be among friends, to sit among roses and lilies, not with the bad people but the devout people. O you blasphemers and betrayers of Christ! If Christ had done what you are doing who would ever have been spared?” (emphasis mine)
-Martin Luther
And some other encouraging quotes:
“[...] reaching people far from God is messy. They cuss…they have serious issues…they smell…they drink…they live lifestyles that are at times really repulsive. Reaching people far God also means going to places that church folks have been taught not to go. People FAR from God do not hang out in Starbucks or Junior League meetings…they hang out in bars, porn shops, downtown streets, bowling allies, courtrooms, emergency rooms and R-rated movies. It’s not easy…it’s not pleasant…it’s not always rewarding. However, reaching people far from God with the Gospel of Jesus Christ is what the Father called us to do.” (emphasis mine)
Chris Elrod, from his blog post, You Gotta Love That Sh*t“If you’re uncomfortable, then you’re doing a good job!”
-Johnny May on contact work
I hope that you find God wherever you are, because He surely finds us wherever we go. He has entered into our reality, with real flesh and bone, to experience our highest joys and our lowest pains. May you know that God does not hide in church attics, but chases after the prostitutes on the street corners. May you trust that He cares more about you running into His arms than about you cleaning up your act. And may you see that God’s healing belongs to the broken and that His kingdom is in the @#$%.
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