'Irresistible Revolution'

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I just finished 'Irresistible Revolution' by Shane Claiborne. You may have heard of this book-or even read it!-as it has become quite popular among the Christian community. And for good reason! IR's (Irresistible Revolution) author, Shane Claiborne, is a, well, I'm not quite sure what you would call him. I think he's one of those people who cannot be defined by one word. Or even two. Of course none of us can. But some more so than others. I suppose the word that would best speak for Claiborne is, a Jesus Lover. OK, so that's two. You know what I mean! Now, let me explain my choice of words.

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I chose those words because the chapter of IR that most impacted me was one where Claiborne was describing a Jesus new to me. (But hopefully not to you.) A Jesus who was more than Sunday School stories & lofty glass images. See, I always sorta wondered, "Why would Jesus bother with me?". I mean, I knew the whole, "God so loved the world..." thing. But, I always just took it for granted. Or thought about it a just a parent/child sort of thing. It never struck me that Jesus loved me. Passionately. And that he would be someone I would want to return those feelings for. Claiborne showed me a new Jesus. A wild, exuberant one. A king. (But not that boring, stuffy kind. Think more along the Lord of the Rings' king, Aragorn.) A Jesus a bit like me. One who felt intense emotions & pain. For me.

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A little while before I started IR, I went thru a very hard time where two close friends were arrested, & one came dangerously close. That really shook my world. I remember thinking (& saying), "I would do anything to take their place. So they don't have to go thru this." And then it clicked. "Oh. That's what Jesus did for me." He didn't want me to go thru what he eventually went thru. So he did what I wanted to do for my friends. He took my place for me. He went thru the worst pain (physical & emotional) so I wouldn't have to.

And he did that for every single person in the world. So, if he would do that for them, shouldn't they get the chance to know about it?

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Thinkpiece: What if you paid bail for someone you didn't even know, so they wouldn't have to endure their sentence. Wouldn't you want them to know? Well, maybe not. But I'm not very good at this. (I'm only a teen!)

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Also, shouldn't people that Jesus loved enough to die for, we love too? Whether that love comes in the form of feeding the poor, giving money, doing mission work, or even opening your home up to others. Whatever your calling is, find it.

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That, to me, is the point IR's author is trying to make. So, thank you Mr. Claiborne, for opening up my eyes to a holy God lover.

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