HAPPY MONDAY! A really basic question got me thinking about today’s word-of-the-week…
FEELINGS
“Why did Jesus die?”
It’s a great question, one for which every follower ought to have a response. I was tempted to offer my version of the “right” answer, but that’s not really how you generate dialogue.
So we talked for a few minutes, and then one guy said, “Why don’t we list some reasons He didn’t die?”
I thought that sounded really interesting, so I asked him for an example.
“Well, Jesus didn’t die to make me feel better.”
The room got really quiet. “Talk some more about that.”
“Well, a lot of what happens with religion seems to be about making people feel good. We say comfortable stuff and water everything down because we’re more concerned with people’s feelings than with telling the truth.
“But a lot of what Jesus said made people uncomfortable. We need to get over the idea that He came to make us feel good.”
By the time we finished a wide-ranging discussion of why He didn’t die (to make me rich or to keep me safe, for example), the man who asked the original question provided his own answer.
This teaching thing isn’t so tough, huh?
# # #
It’s Monday. Might be a good time to be clear about why He died for you…and why He didn’t.
Have a great week.
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