MARSHMALLOWS AND CAMP-FIRES
The English journalist and writer, G.K. Chesterton died in 1936 but not before he left the world a great store of literature and joy-filled advice. He admired Marcus Aurelius, the Roman Emperor and Stoic. He thought Aurelius was virtuous, sincere, generous and open-minded. He even admired his writings but he said there was something about the scholar-emperor that was lacking. And what was that? “He does not command me to perform the impossible,” said Chesterton.
He was nothing like Jesus in this regard. Even his writings had that same, “Now, let’s makes sure we don’t go to an extreme” tone. No one was stretched. No one was told. “Oh, stop that! That’s beneath you. Follow me and I’ll give you something to match what you were made for.” Chesterton compared the Stoic emperor’s words with Christ and said,
The Meditations of Marcus Aurelius.
Yes: he was soliloquizing, not making something.
Do not the words of Jesus ring
Like nails knocked into a board
In his Father’s workshop?
My suspicion is that most vibrant young people would say that the Christ they hear about from churches in general and preachers in particular doesn’t command them to do the impossible or believe the incredible. And that’s a real shame because the real Christ, the Christ we haven’t domesticated, does just that! Young people don’t need to put up with this and they shouldn’t do it. They shouldn’t let the bland churches and bored preachers leave them bloodless! They ought to go straight to the words of Christ himself and feel their blood stir. There’s nothing anemic about Jesus Christ and if in coming to Christ we find our thinking is tamer, our dreams are more reasonable, our convictions are more moderate then we’ve come to the wrong Christ!
The real Jesus Christ is a tearer-down of worlds and a builder of a new creation. He neither wimps nor whines and goes striding down the centuries looking for people who will risk putting their minds and hearts and bodies and energies in his hands.
God help us, by the time some churches and preachers and books are done with us we can’t even dream outrageous dreams in the name of Christ. There’s no sense in us that we’re at war with a world-spirit that is anti-God, anti-Christ and anti-life! If we aren’t dead when they’re done with us we’re at least sound asleep and all the happy songs and new worship formats in creation won’t keep vibrant young people from a ho-hum existence unless by chance the youthful Christ gatecrashes our worship-party.
If that happens some girl or boy just might stand up and ask, "Is that it? We're all to avoid drugs, booze and sex before marriage, attend church and be nice kids? Is that to be the sum total of our lives? Is this the only preaching we're to hear around here? Hmmm. You wonder why so many of us are leaving the church and heading for other places?"
©2004 Jim McGuiggan. All materials are free to be copied and used as long as money is not being made.
Many thanks to brother Ed Healy, for allowing me to post from his website, the abiding word.com.
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