In a life changing way, I had the words righteousness and justice redefined for me by the men Harvie Conn and Tim Keller. Ever sense then my world has been turning upside down as I have sought to follow Jesus in a new way by pursuing my ever growing understanding of these words.
Today was surreal as I momentarilly realized where that has taken me. Searching for a house in the impoverished inner city area of Dallas, called West Dallas, my friend Brent and I stood on the corner of Mcbroom street, a street known for its heavy drugs and crime. With our under 40,000 budget, Brent and I were led to a house on Mcbroom, owned by the bank due to an unfortunately unsurprising forclosure.
As we got out of the car, I was made known by our hearty real estat agent, Charles Acrton, that a few houses down was a known brothel where local prostitution happend frequently. As we tried to unlock the front door of the home I couldn't help notice a woman walking across the street wearing clothes that easily identified her with the trade. Startled by all the commotion on the street, I asked our realtor about the three or so neighbors sitting in the front yard a house over, and he started to go into detail about the unconfronted drug activity that ran out of that house.
I had prayed that morning for God to act as I committed my way to him. As I watched a teenage boy walk towards the drug house as I walked to my car, I was hit by the realization that God's ways are not intuitive, and they only revealed in the life of Jesus.
One of the only biblical characters to respond approriately in the gospels to Christ is the prostitute in Luke 7:36-50. She beautifully discerns Jesus as the Savior of the world and wets His feet with her tears, so glad for the good news of Salvation. Sadly, when re-reading that passage, instead of identifying with her passion I find myself like Simon, confused about the ways of Jesus. Jesus would have moved in love towards Mcbroom street while I was at this point ready to get back in the car to go to the next house.
It is in times like this that I realize and mourn the gulf between what I know about Jesus and my likeness of him. Hopefully that gap is narrowing for all of us. I pray as I write this for the Spirit to change me yet realize that the answer could mean me ending up on Mcbroom street, miles away from the Dover Road that I grew up on in Buckhead Atlanta.
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