I often catch myself giving two extreme examples of something to suggest that Jesus opts for the middle way and implying that Christianity is a journey towards balance. Some things have come to light that has shown that this is a slightly misleading reading of pursuing Jesus. To get there follow me carefully.
I still watch and enjoy pro-wrestling. I appreciate it is not ‘real’ in the sense that it is pre-scripted athletic choreography of conflict rather than genuine animosity leading to physical contact. Yet there is still the element that for the story to be convincing requires the combatants to endure a degree of physical hardship. Within my experience of the industry I note three types of wrestling.
The first is technical wrestling that focuses on classic wrestling holds and moves retained within the ring as much as possible and displaying the ‘purer’ wrestling arts featuring various take-down moves and submission manoeuvres. From there the second type involves two varying styles of wrestling that are not about pure wrestling superiority. One of these is brawling where the style is more about less graceful and more obvious means of defeating your opponent by things like pounding and stomping the opponent before a heavy impact finisher. The other side is the high-flying option where it’s about speed and flight incorporating the whole ring and sometimes heightening vulnerability because of the type of move.
The final type of wrestling is often referred to as garbage or extreme wrestling because it has little obvious connection with pure wrestling. This type can include a variety of instruments to gain the upper hand. It is known as extreme wrestling for the extent competitors go to for the sake of being triumphant. Here tables are be smashed, chairs used and a whole range of ‘foreign items’ (like garbage cans) can be used to render the opponent senseless in defeat. It is seen as extreme for the barbaric nature it takes and bloodshed likely and the crazy lengths competitors take in telling the story. This style of wrestling is now rarely seen in mainstream wrestling.
When considering some of the statements of Jesus some might think that He was going to extremes consider the following entries to consider:
- If your hand offends you, cut it off
- If you don’t eat my flesh and drink my blood, you have no part in the Kingdom
- Sell all you have and give to the poor and you will have treasures in heaven and come follow me
- If you don’t hate your parents, children, wife and even yourself, you won’t make it to the Kingdom
- Let the dead bury the dead, you follow me
These are just a few selections of brutally extreme measures for Kingdom living. Often when confronted with these we like to rationalise them. In our favour is a term for reading known as hyperbole, from which we get the concept of hype, where something is exaggerated beyond its given proportions for the impact effect. So we gladly relegate these extreme sayings to that definition and merely suggest it’s important to get the meaning rather than take Him literally.
The problem with this approach is that it sometimes robs the very words of the power and authority contained in it. And indeed on closer examination of the Jesus lifestyle it is one given to extremes rather than living in the safety of the known – like the act of being sacrificed itself. We see the extravagant act of worship by the woman with the oil. This Kingdom is obviously about something beyond the convenient and conventional. Jesus’ requirement may have had some hype, but not as much as we’re looking for.
When we examine what is said we sometimes see more power in those God-given words than in any element of cleverness on man’s part. If Jesus is able and desiring to live to extremes, so to, with Holy Ghost training, are we capable of training hard to be in 2011 what we’re called to before time runs out.
Consider our commitment to other extremes. The lengths we will go to in order to maintain our existence. Look at the amazing stories of what people do from calculated torture to desperate acts of selling themselves or their own children. Consider the race for space and discovering the extremities of life on planet earth. The hours, day, weeks, months and years as well as billions of pounds invested in these activities and what outcome have they given to the nature of the human heart? What benefit has it derived for those disadvantaged among us?
Consider also whether there is such a thing as too much love, or too much wisdom, or too much holiness, or too much righteousness. Sometimes we try to rationalise ourselves out of God’s desire by using disclaimers like ‘you have to be careful’, ‘you have to be reasonable’, ‘think it through’ and ‘everything in moderation’. Yet when it comes to a moderate amount of smoking, most experts would consider that at 0 smoking. Moderate amounts of poison are likewise measured at 0 – or it’s not poisonous. How about moderate amounts of murder?
On the reverse moderate amounts of acts of compassion, moderate amounts of words of kindness, moderate amounts of deeds of grace, moderate amounts of moments of forgiveness, should be as limited as the mercies of God!
Yet this life in the extreme can appear too much for us, but I pray that as for me and my faith household that our minds, hearts and bodies will be taken to heeding the words and acts of Jesus and those who follow Him by living life to the extreme.
For His Name’s Sake
Shalom
dmcd
Life With CD 