Last weekend I found my way to Jim Palmer‘s list of “15 Things Jesus Didn’t Say.” Three items on his list really resonated with me:
- I have come to bring you a new religion;
- By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you have correct theology; and
- If anyone would come after me, let him disparage all other religions and their followers.
So What?
For the last several years I have been seeking to follow the way of Jesus. Often I find well meaning Christians who lose sight of what this means because of an overemphasis on some specific area or correct theology/belief, institutional expectations/traditions, and/or exclusivistic tendency. The Jesus I meet in the Gospels clearly isn’t interested in creating a new religion or having followers who will adhere to the later human constructions of institutional norms crafted by these bodies nor is he interested in creating belief centered pop quizzes for disciples that determine who is a real follower and who isn’t.
- What types of statements have you heard Christians make about what it means to follow Jesus that either go against who you understand Jesus to be or prioritize something Jesus clearly didn’t prioritize?
- In a single sentence, how would you summarize what the way of Jesus is?