Jesus Is a Messy God

jamin | June 4, 2015 | 0 Comments

While getting lunch yesterday I had just come from a meeting where I prayed that God would work out any issues on the call and help me not have to deal with anything nasty. The result is that I have to deal with some unpleasantness, nothing was taken away, but I was made calm in it and equipped to handle it bit by bit. I thought more about that and why I wasn’t given an “out” and things weren’t made easier for me.

I then thought back to my life with Jesus since 15. There have been times that I’ve wholly avoided problematic situations that others don’t avoid and it overtakes them. However, most times, I’m put through something to grow, acquire skills, and learn how to deal with living in an imperfect world. When Jesus found me (or vice versa), I was a quietly rebellious teenager who hated my father (I prayed for him to die every night. Really), thought about suicide, had just started making friends in school, got teased and bullied all my life before then for being thought of as gay (“faggot” was hurled at me daily), and who used to read workout magazines ostensibly to get in shape and get my weight under control…but I never lost weight or gained muscle.

Since then, thinking hard about it, Jesus has always been one to wade in the messy sewer backwash of my life and get me on a better path. That’s such a loving response. I mean, often we say we love people but aren’t willing to get to know them personally or walk through thorns and thickets with them to get them out and on to a better path.

“I love you from afar.” “Hate the sin but love the sinner!” This is what you actually are doing.

In looking at David’s life from I Samuel through Psalms, you tend to see that God was a messy God for David too. He promised David that he would be king…but it didn’t come right away. David had to wait a LOOOOOONG time to get the throne and even a bit longer to unite Israel and Judah. He had to wonder at times if God had forgotten him or changed his mind. Saul almost killed him. David had to flee to save his life. (He kind of got back at Saul, maybe, by marrying Saul’s daughter, so he was kind of “in” the royal family before taking it over. Kind of smart in a way.) Joseph had to have the same thoughts in prison – “When is this going to end?” When you’re 30, Joseph. Whew!) Esther won a beauty contest, became queen, and then had to wade through the mess of concocting a plan that could have killed her AND HER SKINFOLK to save Persian Jews. Jesus endured the worst of punishments BEFORE the worst of executions for an entire created and non-created existence of folks who were/are a mixture of people who know or don’t know Him or don’t care to know Him (a rather thankless job, right?) and then had to die on top of it in order to redeem the world then rise to get all power. Oh, and God turned his back on him when he was on the cross, covered in blood, water, and sweat.

Yeah. I know why He did it but I’m still looking like this initially when I think of it until I think more about it. LOL

I guess I’m just saying that nothing about Christianity or following Jesus is pretty. We shouldn’t expect it to be smooth sailing or tell others how easy it is to be saved. It’s often “unpretty”, filled with bumps, bruises, scrapes, falls, and even death just to make it out to a better realm. It’s worth it, though, because like the meeting could have overtaken me, I am being equipped to deal with it, which is a chance many people won’t get. God is good and faithful and equips us to endure. (David’s life was spared; Esther risked a lot but got walked through what to do and gained boldness; Joseph was placed in charge of small things on the way to the big thing [governor of Egypt – only responsible to Pharaoh].). He helps us endure even if we’re not taken out of the imperfect situation like we desperately want.