Yeah… No

There is this common misconception that when we follow Christ, our life is supposed to be 100% hunky dory and easy peasy. That God will make everything smooth sailing from here on out. That if we are doing our faith “right,” we will be living the good life. Right?

Yeah… the Bible never said that.

In fact, we’re coming to a passage this weekend when Jesus is actually going to say the exact opposite of that. In essence, he reminds us that the world will likely hate us, because it hated him first. He uses the word persecution (although we should all remember what Ralph Waldo Emerson said about confusing persecution with merely having someone disagree with us – it is a vulgar mistake to make). Jesus even says the world will kick us out of our faith communities for actually daring to really follow him.

Shocking as this might be to some, the seeming faithful have been known to forget to follow God on occasion. In fact, that’s what a major chunk of scripture covers. John the Baptist calls them a “brood of vipers” for a reason. People of faith have often thought they understood what God meant so well that they took their understanding and ran with it. Then they get very upset when someone comes in and upsets the applecart by sharing a fresh understanding – like Jesus did.

And like other prophets have and continue to do in each successive generation. Because the Spirit still speaks. And we are the church always reforming, according to that Living Word, Jesus Christ.

So, come this weekend and hear more about how the Spirit will continue to guide us even when the world throws the book at us. It should be a fascinating subject.

Blessings, Pastor Janie