Is It Ok If I Follow Jesus?

Being categorized is one of my pet hates.  It's not because I see my self as above categories, after all I'm a 'Christian.'  That's a category.  However I really don't like what comes after being categorized... the assumptions about behavior, language and practices etc.  Categories can also speak back to the person and anticipate those trends, traits and habits of the category.  For example 'I'm a Christian so the category expects XYZ.'

The Ministry of Annoyance
Because of my writings and speaking I am categorized.  There are those who have socially martyred me because I don't flow with the XYZ of category.  Am I just a person who likes the controversial, revels in rebellion and enjoys alienating people?  The answer is no.  I don't enjoy having Bible College colleagues think I'm back-slidden, Youth Group contemporaries perform that deafening silence that is loud and clear. Nevertheless I am compelled to write and speak about Reformation in the church.  In order to do this the Lord has had me observe beyond categories.

When we find that someone practices a certain thing we place them in a category.  It's a labeling system we all do as we manage the information before us.  What I ask is 'what makes a person (me) do that in light of this?'  For example the Hebrew nation fell into unbelief and a generation fell in the desert.  What was the process of thinking, "Yahweh shows me seas parting, fiery tornadoes, water gushing from a rock, daily food provided for us from heaven... I think I'll follow an Egyptian god!"  It's too easy to just categorize that as sin.  It's right to do so but what are the actual components of our core self that can be so 'yes!' one minute then oh so 'nope!' the next?

Someone has to say it
I am not going to answer that question in this particular blog but this is the core motivation as to why I feel the Lord wants me to challenge the Church, Christians, Christianity and its component parts.  Someone has to say things that go beyond categories, bypassing the niceness that gets friends and supporters.  "But Gary,  'Jesus grew in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and man' (Luke 2:52)  you need to be like Jesus" That text is speaking of when Jesus was growing up.  Everyone forgets that this went terribly wrong when Jesus went into the Synagogue 2 chapters later!  Jesus challenged those he was brought up with to the point that they wanted to kill him.      

Jesus also conducted an all out war with the Teachers of the Law (Tannaim).  Again, I will cover the detail of that later but it is entirely Jesus-like to be called to challenge the establishment.  That some people don't like it is not a cause for concern... it's supposed to be like that.   Just to give a flavor of how Jesus purposely annoyed the Teachers of the Law we can observe the healing of the man born Blind (John 9).  Firstly Jesus was healing on the Sabbath.  That was the first no-no.  Mishna still says making mud from spit to heal was particularly banned by the Tannaim. Jesus did this to absolutely infuriate those watching who had come from Jerusalem to observe Jesus.  To top it off Jesus tells the man to wash it off in the pool of Siloam.  At the time a festival was taking place where water from the pool was used in the Synagogue.  The water was muddied by this act thus making the ceremony problematic.

Now we can see Jesus stepping up to the plate and saying what needs to be said.  Some people are called to be like this today.   Is it ok if I follow Jesus?

Gary Ward