World turning

What if I ran out of words, a man asked me more than 10 years ago. So far my answer holds true. There are always words, some good, some bad, some boring, some exciting.

I was taken by a question in a Bible Study we're doing at one of the churches based on Acts 17:6. Paul andSilas had gone to Thessalonica  and were, uh, doing things that the local leaders didn't care for. "When they could not find them, they dragged Jason and some believers before the city authorities, shouting, “These people who have been turning the world upside down have come here also ..."


They were turning the world upside down.

When is the last time you did that for Jesus? I can't get past it. For two days I've lived with it, like a dog following me around all day. When is the last time I did that? When is the last time the cross meant absolutely everything to me? When is the last time I was involved in a life-changing incident, where Jesus just walked up and life was different for someone?

I can't get past it. I can't. We Methodists talk about transforming the world for Jesus Christ, but what we do is argue. Is that turning the world upside down?

Paul and Silas walked into town and began using logic, reason and love to tell them about the Jesus they had never heard of. And the world flopped around for these folks like a fish yanked out of the water.

Us? We go to church.

In the promo for Francis Chan's Crazy Love, we read this: "Does something deep inside your heart long to break free from the status quo? Are you hungry for an authentic faith that addresses the problems of our world with tangible, even radical, solutions? God is calling you to a passionate love relationship with Himself. Because the answer to religious complacency isn't working harder at a list of do's and don'ts — it's falling in love with God. And once you encounter His love, as Francis describes it, you will never be the same. Because when you're wildly in love with someone, it changes everything."

It seems to me, then, that to change the world, to turn it upside down, it is imperative that we begin with something called love. If we love, Paul says, we have the most important ingredient in world tipping.

It begins and ends with Jesus. The question is are we really telling anyone about what He has done for us? Can we? In today's climate where they allegedly are shooting those who stand up for the name of our Lord and Savior around the world, are we fearless? Are we hungry? Are we authentic?

Only we can answer those questions. Oh, and those who we turn upside down.