Free to Love

In the movie Happy Feet, there were stern leader penguins who fit the stereotype of  sanctimonious church leaders to a T. In fact, their Scottish accents and the fact that they were referred to as "elders" makes me wonder if the screenwriter hadn't grown up in a stiff Scottish Presbyterian church. The media, even the Christian media, has painted a very clear picture of the problems of arrogant, inflexible leadership. But one of the religious opposites to that uptight, old time religion is the radical, hip young leader. With a shaved head and a soul patch, these cutting edge preachers show that it's not all just about rules. Grace is important, too. In fact, it's so important, that if you don't do grace the way they do grace, then they're going to treat you pretty much just like a sanctimonious church leader would and shun you. I've seen it happen in various denominations, in various locations and among various ages. The theme is the same: I get it and you don't.

John Alexander writes,

"I've been in many places where people were committed to radical discipleship..., and my observation is that in those places we were not lovers of God or of each other. That's what failure is--failure to love God and each other. My conclusion is that confronting people with law, even Jesus' 'law,' doesn't free them to love. Instead, it sets up a dynamic of condemnation and tension and anger and superiority. An understanding of the law (or better, a misunderstanding of law) sets people up to try to straighten others out. to fix each other, whether anyone wants to be fixed or not. When that happens (which is often) live-in churches [which is the type of church Alexander was a part of] explode in fiery holocaust. All in the name of Jesus. ... Oddly enough, none of that frees people to love."

Jesus said that others would see that we are his disciples by our love for one another. He never said people would make the connection due to our understanding of the creeds, or our cool music during services, or by how authentic we are, or how polished, or how well we create a spiritual ambiance. All of those things can be helpful to people depending on their personality types, but they're not the crux of the matter. What shines out of us and lets the world know that we are followers of the Christ is our love for one another. At least, that's what Jesus said. You don't have to be cool to love people better. But you do have to be humble, and caring, and kind. And you do have to practice. And you do have to take time to love others well.

And as we become conduits of God's love, loving those that are different from us as well as those that we "click" with or agree with or feel comfortable around, that in turn frees others to love. That is the gospel in action.