Much to my amazement and pure delight, about 2 weeks ago Neil suggested that we start reading together at night - meaning reading to each other. A little background: We've been at a soul-searching kind of place since Neil's been home the past 2 months...(ok, maybe longer). We've been seeking God in deep ways - with lots of changes coming up, making decisions about the future. It's a great place to be in, because we're open to new possibilities. We've been hungry for something real - challenging us to the core - yet something tangible - how do we REALLY show Christ to the world? How do we REALLY walk in His steps? How can we, in a sense, be "Jesus with skin on"?
We wanted something that challenged us more than just in our marriage. We wanted a fresh realization of God's word - something that didn't just make us "feel good" and we could walk away from it and never think about it again. We wanted something to rock our world as it shed light on scriptures we didn't fully understand.
So, after looking at our home book collection and not finding anything that fit the bill, we drove with Bella to Jacksonville to the Christian Book store, and just started thumbing through books. Neil came across one that he was really excited about and he showed it to me. At first glance, it didn't seem like anything special - but he had read more within the book than I had, since I was kinda chasing Bella around (a kid that LOVES books in a store FULL of books...not a good combination...), but he was so excited about it that I was like "OK, sure. If that's the one you want."
we took it home and read the first chapter that night. The whole time we're reading, we're looking at each other all wide-eyed and after we finished the first chapter, we wanted to jump up and down and shout out loud in pure joy. Perhaps most people wouldn't be, because it challenges everything we have ever been taught about what it means to be a Christian in America. It challenges us to read the Scriptures in a way we never have before...To read scripture and bring it to life! It challenges us to think outside of ourselves in a way I never have before. Our butts have been officially kicked over and over and over, yet instead of feeling defeated and beat down, we feel relief. We have heard something real. something tangible. Something that matters. Something that puts some skin on Jesus in a world that desperately needs Him to be real.
we're still reading...and learning...and growing...and seeking God in every way imaginable. He's rocking our pretty little privilaged American suburbia world, and we can't get enough!
The name of the book?
The Irresistible Revolution by Shane Claiborne
Here's just a clip, and it doesn't even scratch the surface...(pg. 41)
"I know there are people out there who say,'My life was such a mess. I was drinking, parying, sleeping around...and then I met Jesus and my whole life came together.' God bless those people. But me, I had it together. I used to be cool. And then I met Jesus and he wrecked my life. The more I read the gospel, the more it messed me up, turning everything I believed in, valued, and hoped for upside-down. I am still recovering from my conversion."
The book of Acts is full of people whose lives were messed up when they met Jesus.
If the gospel hasn't messed up our lives, then maybe we're doing something wrong...
