The Difference

This is not going to be a well-worded sermon on the precepts of belief or the theological inter-workings of existence. I will express half-baked ideas and in-process thoughts, because I am a human in process. The questions I want to pose are for you to consider, not for me to answer.

Having a belief system in modern day America is an extraordinary amalgamation of societal pressures to believe or not believe, conform or not conform, and whether to hold to your faith or simply be okay with everything. Whatever each person may have experienced in this regard, we all have most likely come to the conclusion that it can be difficult to be both a modern human and a Christ follower. 

How do we do as Jesus did? He sat with beggars, tax-collectors, whores, criminals, law enforcement, and heretics. How do we do the same in our current cultural context? He sat with humans, regardless of beliefs, background, or appearance. He remained himself, genuine and open, in each context he was present in. How do we follow that example?

I think these questions have led me to wonder what it's all about. Faith, belief, existence. When you scrape away everything else what remains is simply the relationship between Jesus and us. That's the whole point, right? If that's the point for our existence than how does that knowledge affect my everyday life?

How is Jesus the difference in my life? I don't want to participate in a faith that simply results in a tingling down my spine on the occasional Sunday morning. How is my faith manifest in my life in actual, real-life, observable moments?

How is Jesus the Difference?

What are the moments in life where you can look and see that Jesus was the difference between chaos and peace, hope and desolation, life and death. If we take a moment, no matter what our lives may look like, we can see the workings of Jesus. My dad once said, years ago, "Jesus is working everywhere, all the time, we just need the eyes to see it". So again, how is Jesus the difference in our lives?

I know over the course of my lifetime there are multiple occasions that I can say with certainly that if Jesus had not intervened I may not be here today. Or if I was here I would be a far more shattered person than I am today. Jesus was there. He was when no one else was. He was the difference between life and death for me. And in light of that I've come to a place where I am no longer willing to live my life without his difference being present in my life.

Are we settling for simply letting life happen to us? Are we active participants in our own lives? Are we settling for anything less than Jesus being the difference for us on a moment-by-moment basis?

I want to live my life knowing that every breath I breathe has been provided to me. That every breath he is the difference between life and death. I want to living knowing that Jesus is the Difference.