Freak!

With the mission trip under our belt, we dove back into our discussion of our big, big God by looking at the question of whether this invisible God that desires a relationship with us is going to make us be some sort of "Jesus Freak".  There are a lot of variables there, so before we can even get started with our question, we need to quantify things a bit.  So, the first item to address is the term "freak".  The kids did a very thorough job defining the term, though I'll spare you all the details, but ended up with “strange”, “crazy” and “unusual” as the best words to describe it.  Then we focused on figuring out just what a "Jesus Freak" is and whether or not it is even a negative term.  The consensus was that it is someone who is kind of an over-the-top Christian or extreme in their faith.  Fair enough.  And as to whether it was a good or bad thing, they sort of had mixed feelings.

So, as we began, I drew a line on the board with the two "extremes" of faith - one end being none, such as an atheist, and the other end being the "Jesus Freak".  At that point I had the kids identify where they felt that they currently fell on the chart between the extremes and where they felt like they should be.  They were all over the place, but the end result was about the same for all of them.  They were somewhere in the middle and felt like they should be further toward the "Jesus Freak" end, but not necessarily to the end.  One of them summed it up pretty well.  She said, "I know I should be closer to the “Jesus Freak”, but part of me just doesn't want to."  Yup, that pretty much sums it up for the vast majority of us.  But the question is why.

So, we started off by opening up and looking at 1 Corinthians 11:1.  Here we see Paul make a bold statement to the church in Corinth that they should "Follow my example, just as I follow the example of Christ".  Talk about being confident in your walk.  I asked the kids if any of them felt like they could make such a claim and they laughed.  I did too.  But imagine being so far along in your walk with God that you could tell people that aren't sure about how to be a Christian to simply copy what you're doing.  This brought up our dot/line conversation that we have talked about over the last couple months.  As Christians, we are moving along the line of sanctification, or becoming more Christ-like.  It is a process.  We all move at different paces and at different times, but the goal is the same for all: to be more like Jesus.

So, as a Christian in process, the end goal would appear to be the "Jesus Freak" end of the spectrum.  So what's the hold up?  We flipped back a few books to Romans 12:1-2 to see Paul talking to the church in Rome.  He says some pretty interesting stuff that I bet was probably just as hard for the Romans to hear as it is for us today.  Things like offering up our bodies as living sacrifices and not living the way the world lives make us a little uncomfortable.  After all, being a living sacrifice means that we have to die to ourselves.  We talked about that a little and basically explained that it is when we place more importance on what God wants for us than what we want for ourselves.  On paper that sounds good, but living it out is a little harder.  After all, there are lots of things out there to do that don’t exactly line up with being Christ-like.  Being in the world means we see a lot of things out there that we want to be a part of and dying to that part of life to do what God wants us to do doesn’t sound like all that much fun.  Wouldn’t it be easier if we didn’t have to see it?

People have tried to make that process easier and more realistic by withdrawing from society to become monks and hermits living on the fringe, having little or no human interaction to shield themselves from temptation and worldly things.  They take being "in the world but not of the world" to the extreme.  I asked the kids if anything is wrong with living that way and they instantly answered that isolating yourself means that you can't tell other people about Jesus.  Bingo!  They’re so smart.  The relationships that we have play such a huge role in the day-to-day evangelism of the gospel.  Without contact with the world, our role in the gospel is reduced to less than what God designed it to be.  So, if we can't withdraw from the world, how do we live in it without being affected by it?

The last scripture for the day finds us in 1 Peter 2:1-3.  Here we get practical instructions and advice that basically boils down to reducing sin and desiring God.  Again, it seems so simple on paper.  So why is it such a problem?  The kids knew without me cueing them.  It’s because we are sinful.  Our sin nature makes the process of sanctification slow because we get bogged down in the mess of the world, in our own sinful wiring, in our desire to be in control, in the addiction of experience and so many other things.  But despite the obstacles, our goal is to keep moving.  We should never be content with where we are in our walk.  We should constantly be in process.

Will that make us a "Jesus Freak"?  That depends.  Perspective is everything.  From the “faithless” end of the spectrum, following after an invisible God and putting hope in grace by faith probably does seem freakish.  It is not normal to die to oneself, especially when society tells you that you are the most important thing.  But, from the other end of the spectrum, the guy living for himself, in the moment, with no hope in anything beyond himself and his temporary life seems pretty crazy too.  And the guy straddling the fence trying to be "Christian" - but still trying to do everything the world does - probably thinks that both ends are goofy.  Other people are always going to judge based on where they are, what they want to see, and their perception of truth.  How much stock we put in their perspective can keep us from moving on toward our goal of being Christ-like.

While adults would probably be sitting back, nodding in agreement and unwilling to ask the hard questions… preteens don’t know any better.  So, one of them asked, “what if appearing to be too much of a “Jesus Freak” ends up making some people not want a relationship with me?”.  What a great and honest question!  Even if it is because of their distorted perception, what if it keeps them from wanting to have anything to do with us?  I have no clue.  It’s a real concern a lot of people have.  If they appear too “Christian”, they can’t slip under the radar and build relationships with non-believers.  My only response is that our part of the equation is to be obedient.  Part of that obedience is trusting that God is in control and knows best.  Part of what 1 Peter 2 told us was “Don't pretend to be something you are not”.  This not only means to not act holier or better than what you are, but not to act worse than you are.  Be yourself and let God be in control.  Let Him orchestrate how those relationships work themselves out.  And if someone doesn’t want to hang out with you because of who you are, then let God worry about it.

Let’s be honest.  Life in this world is hard and messy.  I think of God sending His only son to be a nasty, smelly human and what a hard thing that would have been for him.  Imagine begin a co-creator of the universe in one minute and relying on your creation to change your diaper the next.  Yet, Jesus put himself in the middle of that mess and was successfully able to live in the world and not be of it.  He did it because of the relationships and perspective that it afforded him. People thought he was a freak, too.  The religious leaders rejected him because of what he said and did.  And ultimately, he endured torture, death and separation so that all of humanity could have the choice of being reconciled with God.

So will God make me a "Jesus Freak"?  Nope.  God doesn't make me do anything.  He gives me the choice and freedom to do whatever I want, even at His own expense.  When I choose the things of the world, I suffer the consequences.  And when I choose to do what is right, it brings glory to Him.  But God lets me decide who I am.  The question is will I choose to live life for myself or in such a way that I am constantly moving closer to being Christ-like?  Will I be content with simply being justified or will I strive to work out my sanctification?  Is it my desire to be viewed as “normal” by the masses or to be so conformed to the image of Christ that I can tell others to emulate me as I emulate him?  And depending on what I choose, I just might be considered a freak by some.  But I might also be considered a role model by others.  And when it is all said and done, I might just be considered a "good and faithful servant" by the only One whose opinion really matters.