Encountering Jesus

Hello all! Feeling inspired today to share with you a fun story out of a super awesome book called, "Beautiful Outlaw" by John Eldridge. If you have yet to read this book, I urge you to check it out. It is THE coolest book ever! It's all about the personality of Jesus and his true, honest and cunningly playful character.

People in my life who have known me forever who I don't have the pleasure of visiting with everyday are probably wondering what's with my sudden lifestyle change over the last year or so. Well, I'll just get right to it, I myself had a very real and life changing experience with Jesus a week before my wedding that changed me forever! Some people might think I'm crazy or choose not to believe me because it's not realistic to have supernatural experiences but I'm here to tell you, it is very real and it truly happens! Don't take my word for it, experience it for yourself and see what I mean ;) That's the best way if you ask me...experience it for yourself! And I guarantee without a shadow of a doubt there are millions of people out there who would back me up on it! Just ask me and I'll tell you how to experience it too!

Back to the story I'd like to share, I just love this because it shows the hilarious-ness that is Jesus ;)

"I was going to call this book Jesus of a Thousand Hearts, because of the ways he continually breaks into my life. He "speaks" to me through hearts. I'll find stones in the shape of hearts in the rivers where I'm fishing. I've seen them almost step by step up a mountainside when on a grueling climb. Praying in the morning I'll look out the window and passing by will be a heart-shaped cloud. Dinner rolls, seashells, stains on my jeans. I've won the lottery when it comes to hearts from Jesus. But I am ashamed to admit that last summer, I grew a little impatient with them. I was going through a trying time and seeking God for the answer to many questions. Often, he would simply give me a heart in reply. I'd be walking down the sidewalk, and there in the cement see a heart-shaped hole, made by a bubble when they poured the sidewalk. I actually grew a little dismissive of them. I didn't want hearts- I wanted answers.
So, Jesus stopped giving these treasures of our friendship.
Last fall, while walking through an alpine meadow bow hunting, I was asking him, How come you don't give me hearts anymore? I asked it in a pouting kind of way. At that moment something gray caught my eye. I looked down midstride, and there in the grass, about as big as a dinner plate, was a dried piece of cow manure-in the perfect shape of a heart.
If I didn't know Jesus adored me, if I didn't know he is playful, and if our relationship didn't allow me to recieve a playful tease, I might have misinterpreted the icon. But I loved it. It was both, Oh, so now you want a heart? and, I adore you still. A cowpie heart. That is so Jesus."

"Let him be himself, friends. He'll come. He'll come."

(Eldridge, 195 & 196)

Disruptive Honesty

Don't let the title of this post fool you, just keep reading ;)

I think it's safe to say that it's a pretty common thought to see Jesus as this untouchable and perfect person. We probably envision him as we see him paintings. As this dreamy, whimsical, angelic man. And yes, I think it's a beautiful image but I think it causes us to not be able to relate to him as much as we could. It's a little intimidating, right? Well, I've been reading this incredible book called, "Beautiful Outlaw; Experiencing the Playful, Disruptive, Extravagant Personality of Jesus" and it is THE most incredible book. It has helped me to see Jesus for who he really is. Playful and fun, honest and real. I'd like to share a little bit from the chapter about his disruptive honesty. I just love it...

To come to know Jesus intimately, as he is, as he wants to be known, is to release a redemptive landslide in your life. What if at this moment you have terminal cancer, but don't know it. The disease is silently ravaging your body while precious days slip by in which you could be taking action. Now-what if your doctor knew but didn't want to tell you because it would inconvenience him? You'd sue him for malpractice. What if your family knew and didn't tell you because "they didn't want to upset you"? You would be furious. Don't you see how incredibly important it is to know the truth? Well, we can always count on Jesus to tell us the truth. Sometimes he's playful; sometimes he's fierce; the next moment he's generous. This is the beauty of disruptive honesty, you can count on him to to tell you the truth in the best possible way for you to hear it because you need to hear it. We love his honesty when he goes gunning for the Pharisees in Matthew 23:15 but when he turns his sights on us we begin to squirm, something in us gets offended. The world is stone drunk, and raging at Jesus because he's trying to keep us from taking the car. Who is being unreasonable? The spirit of our day is a soft acceptance of everything-except deep conviction in anything. This is where Jesus will suddenly confront the world as a great rock confronts the river flowing ever downhill. He is immovable. Conviction might be a matter of personal opinion, but truth is like a great mountain, solid and immovable whether we like it or even acknowledge it. Chritianity is not a set of convictions-it is a truth. The most offensive thing imaginable.
And Jesus is a rock alright. "A stone of stumbling and a rock of offense" (Rom. 9:33). A rock is offensive in your shoe because it is an inconvenience. If we said, "Away with all rocks!" we would wish the planet right out from under our feet. But a rock is also the only refuge from the raging seas. The shipwrecked soul doesn't curse the rock because it is immovable; he clings to it, weeping for gratitiude. Remember-when Jesus tells us the truth, he doesn't say, "You are on your own now. Deal with it." He offers us a way out. As John said, "For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ" (1:17). Truth and grace. Anytime Jesus pulls the rug out from under us, he extends his hand to lift us to a place of refuge.

(Beautiful Outlaw)