Jesus started a revolution, but not in any kind of political sense. He came to challenge the way we relate and respond to God and how we live with each other. Our motivations and methods were all wrong.
Any kind of rebellion, religious or otherwise, was a hot button for this non-conformist growing up (under the surface anyway). Family and religious adherence, of course, was the thing. There really wasn't much grey area between "compliant" and "rebellious".
We live in a world of rules, I was told, and much of my early Christian experience was about the 10 Commandments, where rebelliousness brought consequences. And all too often compliance was a social currency, where the guilt was heavy and the reward for good behavior was at best, a dose of relief.
I was a child in the 1960s and 70s. Out my cultural window, so many kids older than me were actively and even violently rebelling from long-held social norms and because of that, breaking from their parents too.
In my teen years, even my Christian experience was starting to simmer on the social stove. My family's church was conservative and stale. Then a new church sprang up across town in a converted school, and although it was filled with beards and long hair, Faith Center had a dynamic pastor and an energetic, fresh culture of love and grace. And they embraced the Holy Spirit.
As with the outside cultural revolution, this spiritual movement was birthed and travelled by young people. Me and my sister’s exodus started by attending a bible study in a packed out home nearby: 25+ wide-eyed hippies loving Jesus. Seeing young people passionate about God perplexed my parents. And they were curious, so instead of fighting any of this gentle rebellion, a funny thing happened. My conservative parents were swept into it as well.
Soon the Sheldon family six were literally sneaking away from our old church to this new one - double services on Sunday morning. It was surprising to me and doing this as a family made me a bit peeved because my parents were infringing on our teenage cool. This was not their crowd and not their rebellion. It was ours!
That experience started a lifetime shift in me from rules to grace, from theology to love. I started to see and experience the relational aspect of my Heavenly Father and eventually saw WHY that was essential. Sure, the Law is important, scripture makes that clear. But Moses brought the tablets down as a last resort for a rampantly corrupt and marooned generation. The God/Man/Woman relationship was horribly broken and the way back was unclear.
Yes, consequences are motivators and so is guilt and fear. But to what end? All of it has little to do with relationship, the whole reason for redemption in the first place - and the ultimate endgame. If we build our lives on those negative motivators, we don't sustain long term compliance. And we are left STILL alone.
Jesus didn’t pass an edict, but like a caring physician, he made a house call. He was revolutionary, but mostly, relational! He personally showed, in word and deed, the Father’s never-ending love. But he didn’t just make himself a martyr - it was not merely symbolic. He walked and talked and fished and certainly joked and cried and sang and hugged his family, friends and even strangers along the way.
Now in our modern day, he teaches us how to love and to be loved - the ONLY formula for emotional healing, correcting destructive behavior and reconnecting our vital relationships. Desiring long-lasting, loving connections is a universal human trait. Without that, we truly are powerless to change.
About the Author
Terry is a man in constant motion to explore new horizons. He has a thirst for new places and faces, and a deep love for the natural world - with a weakness for waterfalls and sunsets. All of this venturing out helps to both ground and inspire him, because it opens him up to people, with their vast, collective array of experiences, outlooks and responses.
He finds all of this fascinating and sees that it has encouraged the growth of something crucial in his Christian development: empathy and compassion toward his brothers and sisters on this planet.