So, let me ask you a question... When you fell, did you fall hard enough? There is a difference between loving Jesus, and being IN love with him. So many people will jump up in an instant and claim to be in love with him. But how many of us really are? It is absolutely heartbreaking how far people will drive to go see their favorite worship band in concert, or hear their favorite speaker, yet, they won't even roll out of bed 20 minutes early to spend time with Jesus. Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying it's wrong to like certain bands or anything. But, if we were truly in love with Jesus, we would be more focused on him, than focused on what's going on up on stage. Just look at him! There is no greater image of love, then the bloody cross. You shouldn't have to go any farther than the cross to fall in love with Jesus. I refuse to look at his torn body, and be goverened by my own flesh. Not that I, by any means am perfect. That is certainly not the case. My point is, looking at what this man did for us over 2,000 years ago, shouldn't we be willing to step out of our comfort zone? Instead of going to church and sitting on your pew all service, why not be that one person that gets on the average christian's nerves...? Truth is, we were born to make people who are wasting their passion feel uncomfortable! Yet too many times, rather than standing out from the crowd, all we do is conform to them. As I was listening to Damon Thompson speak one morning, he brought up this point. In John chapter 1, verse 42, Jesus changes Simon's name to Peter. "And he brought him to Jesus. And when Jesus beheld him, he said, Thou art Simon the son of Jona: thou shalt be called Cephas, which is by interpretation, A stone." Now, fast forward several years, to the time of Christ's crucifixion. In Matthew 26:35 Jesus tells Peter that he will deny him. Peter responds promising Jesus that he will go to the death with him, not deny him. How many of us say that to Jesus? We tell him that we love him, and we would give up anything for him. But when if comes down to it, would you really? Or would you fall into conformity? Peter did. Verse 70 says that Peter denied Jesus before all of them. Peter denied Jesus not one, but three times that night. After the ressurrection of Jesus, he looked at Peter and said, "Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me?" Ouch. Can you imagine how Peter must have felt here? Jesus didn't even call him Peter. He called him by his old name, as if he didn't even recognize him as Peter, but as the man he used to be. Peter had denied Jesus 3 times. But Jesus was "restoring" Peter by having him openly tell Jesus that he loved him, 3 times. We do this so often. We confess Jesus with our lips, but when the going gets tough, we're nowhere to be found. And Judas was the perfect example of how we betray Jesus with our lips, say what we want, but then go against him with our actions.
After everything that Jesus went through, for us, people need to start getting fanatical about him! We need to be "Jesus Junkies." Or, "Jesus stalkers." I stalk Jesus. I have cd's that make me want to be with Him. I wake up in the middle of the night to be with Him. I'd rather die than be without Him.
People get fanatical, and nobody looks down on them for cheering on a team of 20 year old boys knocking each other to the ground, and chasing a ball around the yard. Its acceptable to be fanatical about something that doesnt matter. But get fanatical about something that does matter, and you make people uncomfortable!! Why is that??? We should want more than just a surface experience. We should fall until he's all we burn for. Because let me tell ya, if you don't get God's fire in you, you'll settle for the devil's fire.
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