Everything…

So many people died throughout the years, so many people were beheaded, burned, stoned and etc. for a name. The church, the ecclesia has found itself in deep trouble, we stand with our doctrine that Jesus Christ is Lord and saviour of all mankind but over the ages we have painted Jesus to accommodate who we are and what we want. For this reason I am propelled to write a short article on the subject who is Jesus is.

We are engulfed by new cultures that are emerging every day and everywhere we are, might be South Africa, Spain, America, Zimbabwe etc. there is a new culture emerging every day and we are expected to preach Christ Crucified with no editions or subtraction, yet as we do so, we are reminded how Christianity played a huge role in the mass killings back In History, we are reminded how Catholicism has judged people over the years, how Jehovah witnesses say that 6 Billion people around the globe will go to hell while the 144 000 go to heaven, how the 7^th day Adventists judging other churches for attending services on Sunday.

WHO IS JESUS?

Who is Jesus for us today? Is he the number of people that are going to heaven? Is he the alcohol that we drink? Is he the one that kills our dreams? Is he the Zulu dance? Is he my skin colour? Is he the clothes that I wear? Is he the language that I speak? Is he my dumbness or my intellect? Who is Jesus in our world today?

Many people who read my blogs know how much I like Stephan Joubert. He wrote and said “The Challenge to live both Biblically responsible and contemporarily relevant is that we must learn to advance by reversing in the light of a vibrant relationship with Jesus. So we are about to embark on a journey together to meet Jesus. We shall carry a number of principles, stories and lesson in an imaginative way into our present world. We are learning how to look, think and speak backwards and forward simultaneously. Hopefully we shall survive, and thrive, in the peculiar and marvellous world of millennium three. Above all, our journey will turn us into more effective followers of Jesus.” (Joubert, 2012, 40)

People always speak about poverty mind-set, they say poverty mind-set teaches people to depend on other people, they say poverty mind-set limits people. I have another definition of poverty mind-set, I believe that your view of Jesus shapes who you are today and who you will beome tomorrow, my definition of poverty mind-set is that ‘because of how you view Jesus, you are stuck with no growth’. Imagine the kind of empire that Rome would have been if they would have valued the teaching of Jesus Christ? Imagine where South Africa, Zimbabwe, America would be today if they would have followed the principles of Jesus Christ. Would Shaka Zulu would have died and his Kingship came to nothing if he knew Jesus and followed him?

I cannot say to you today change for Jesus is coming soon, it is late. The church has been influenced by the new culture, well many denominations failed to adapt and perished while others adapted and grew even lager. Who is Jesus to us today?

Mike Riddell contends “This is not a time of master plans or franchised churches. It is a time of groups who grapple with issues emerging culture and living out of their faith as followers of Jesus in that culture.

Allan Platt, a visionary of Doxa Deo and the Doxa Deo leaders came up with a wonderful vision and Mission Knowing God, Loving People and Impacting the world by changing cities.

As people of God we are City changers. We are not Zulu, we are not Pedi, we are not English, we are not Afrikans and neither are we any other culture or tradition of the world. Yet we get in those cultures speak their languages and impact those cultures, we do not adapt to it but we challenge change and growth.

Jesus became a Jew and challenged the Jews. Shane Claiborne & Chris Haw Contend “We are to follow in the footsteps of our rabbi so closely that we get His dust on us.” What that means is that we need to be like Jesus, know God, Love people and impact the whole world but remember as he said to the disciples “you be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and all Judea and Samaria and to the ends of the earth.” (Acts 1:8, NIV) so shall we be his witnesses in Centurion, and in all Pretoria and Gauteng and to the ends of the world.

We need to change how we view things, because we are not meant to adapt but to challenge change and growth in Christ. How we view things need to change because speaking Pedi, Zulu, Afrikans in your church does not challenge anyone who visits your church to grow, I always say Just because I am black doesn’t mean I understand Zulu. We need to reach out to all communities and challenge growth to bring more people to Christ.

“Everyone perceives reality through their life metaphors. We are our life metaphors. Life metaphors construct reality for us rather than simply organize it. They create the world we inhabit rather than describe it. When our life metaphors change we change” Bill Easum.

In conclusion, who is Jesus today?

Jesus does not kill, Jesus does not destroy or discourage, Jesus is not negative, and Jesus is not a destroyer.

Jesus is a builder. It does not matter what language, or who believes in what, who wants to kill him or what he is building. Jesus keeps on building. He is a builder, building his father’s kingdom in all spheres of life. Once we change how we view him, the church will judge no more, skin colour and language won’t be a problem, location won’t be a problem, clothing won’t be a problem. Once we change our view of Jesus we will become more than conquers.

Our desert is in the inner cities and abandoned places of the empire.” Shane Clairborne

Stephan Joubert contends “Looking for structures, buildings, positions and titles as the most eminent characteristics, we forget that relationships initially motivated and drove ekklesia (ecclesia) even while it grew missionally. The fingerprints of these Christians did not show up in buildings, offices and religious orders, but on each other’s lives.” (2012, 156)

Richard A. Jensen “it is not because of the ending of the story that we listen and read so intently. We listen and read intently, because we enjoy the journey itself.”

As you find out who Jesus is to you today, enjoy the journey. We are all like Paul the Apostle, we discover more truth from the word of God about Jesus every day and as we are enlightened, may we grow to know him more and encourage others to have a relationship with him everyday. BLESSINGS.

Reference

Joubert., Stephan, 2012, Jesus Radical, Righteous, Relevant, Christian art Publishers, Vereeniging, RSA