This Is About Jesus

It's easy to get distracted isn't it? It's easy to get so caught up in a cause, an organization, academic endeavors, even ministry programs that you lose sight of what the real project is. I see it in others all the time, but it's more rare for me to discover the plank in my own eye. So I want to take a moment to clarify what this is all about. By "this" I mean all of it; my blog, my ministry, my academic pursuits, my advocacy and activism (however it's manifested).

This is all about Jesus... not just the whole death and resurrection thing (the work of salvation can become just another cause in itself) but his message, the things he cared (and cares) about, the people he loves, the world he's restoring, the good news that God has not given up on the world and that all things are being made new. This is about Jesus, the person, and not just the work he did. It's about falling in love with Jesus and worshiping Jesus... it has to be about that. If we don't love the person behind the causes, the programs, the pages, the conversations, then the project will be nothing more than a pragmatic response to the issues of the world, void of the one distinct and revolutionary element that is nearest to the heart of God--love! Without commitment to the person, we miss the point of God's becoming a person and the counter-intuitive sacrifice to which we're called will get lost in our rationality. This is about a relationship, and let that not be lost in the cliche. It's about a relationship because relationship is what calls us outside ourselves and allows us to act beyond reasoned calculations. When you love somebody, you risk all. When you know somebody, the conversation isn't about numbers anymore because one is enough. 

This is about Jesus.