Recently, I have have become quite a big fan of Rob Bell. Those of you who don't know him, he is a pastor of a large church in Michigan. Its one of those success stories, the church started by Bell preaching out of Leviticus. That in itself is extrodinary. One of the new things that the church has started is a video series called Nooma. I am somewhat addicted to these videos...I find them very compelling and watch them over again.
Last week, I watched one of the nooma videos called "Dust". I think this is one of the stronger videos. It is about how we are meant to be Jesus' dust, referring that the disciples would of followed Jesus around day after day, therefore be full of the dust from his footsteps, also implying that we as his disciples should follow in his actions.
I don't want to simply regurgate Bell, but to say that the significance behind Jesus choosing these disciples to be his twelve. They were all people who religious people would have disregarded as not being good enough to be called any Rabbi's disciples, since that was a vocation reserved for those who understood the Torah the best. I think that is one of the strongn points of Jesus and Christianity that it is for everyone, not only the elite, rather God invites us all to participate in.
This fact is awe inspiring. Thinking that the creator of the world would leave his actions in this world in the hands of people like us. If Jesus is our Rabbi as would have been understood in his original context, we are to learn to do what the Rabbi does, not only in knowledge but in action. Jesus is calling us to do as he does, he actually believes we can do what he did.
However, more often I feel we are don't honestly believe this. We are more like Peter who does not have enough faith in himself to walk on water. It is not that Peter does not have faith in Jesus rather he does not have faith in himself that he can do as Jesus does. But that is what a disciple is all about being called by a Rabbi who believes we are capable of doing what the Rabbi does.
It shows that first and for most God believes in our potential to be followers of Jesus in this world. God first believes in us, before we believe in him. I find that the idea of discipleship is sorely lost in the church, maybe this is due to a minimal requirement that seems to dominate the church. But to be true disciples means that we believe that Jesus called us since he believed we can do what he did.
I think this is encouraging and maybe even a bit scary that God has that much faith in us. That he gave the movement that Jesus started and gave over to his followers after his death and resurrection, and basically told us to run with it, people who would have been seen as has beens. But maybe that is a way God turns the social order of the world upside down to take those of us who have been written off by the world, and does great things through us inspite of any weakness.....
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4 comments:
It's a good thing I'm not a Calvinist anymore or I'd be mad at you right now! But seriously Chris, this post is a breath of fresh air. My own strong Calvinist background taught me that we can't say things like "God has faith in us"...but let me tell you, I'm glad you and Rob Bell are saying it...
Thanks for the comment Jeoy...I think your comment about your calvinsit background is interesting since i don't think i ever really grew up in something like that. I feel that people tend to think that God puts up with us, not that he enjoys our company...but I think God always used people to bring his kingdom to the world and that is still true today
Hey Chris, nice blog. So cool to hear you and Trish are dating. I gotta say I am also a huge Rob Bell fan. Do you listen to any of his sermons? I've been listening for the past month or so, and not only is his preaching great, a lot of the speakers they have in our great too.
http://www.mhbcmi.org/listen/index.
php
Oh, and I have a blog too. Except I always start them and get bored with them. This one is relatively up to date. http://aratdogsramblings.blogspot.com
I really like this post. I'm a huge believer in the fact that we are to be Jesus' "Dust"(though I've never thought of it in quite those words), people who follow closely in His footsteps. I think I feel like I can relate in some ways to the social status of the diciples, people that many wouldn't have thought of as being "somebody" that Jesus would choose, but He did. I think I would say the same in my experience in my church community. I look around and I can see that like you said, "God invites us ALL to participate". No one is excluded, least of all for their lack of potential or lack of social status. He believes in us and will walk the road with us. He isn't confined by social structures, in fact, he has a tendency of breaking the social rules; like when He spoke to a Samaritan woman, touched lepers, appeared first to women after His resurrection, or went to Zacchaeus' house. His kingdom has a whole different value system.
One of the amazing things to me is that in calling me to be his "Dust" He had given me value. He has reached out to me and said that He believes in me, believes that I can do what He did.
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