Unplugged Jesus. That's what we call it at the Bible Schools. A Bible, a notebook and a decent desk is all we need for a full day of Bible studies. We don't need commentaries, elaborate explanations, meticulous Inductive Bible Study methods of profound or "original" Hebrew words. There is a time and place for all of those things...but they are down the list of priorities. It's time we get back to the Basics.
Somehow we've invited a spirit of Discontent into our walk with Jesus. As if the real Jesus is somewhere over the rainbow, just slightly beyond our line of spiritual site. With one more gadget, one more seminar, one more YouTube preacher, we'll finally get the critical insight we need to break through the spiritual malaise. And so we wander endlessly; traveling hither and yon to find the elusive Jesus mantra, message or method that will launch us into a spiritual fruitfulness. All the while missing His gentle knock on the door. The praise music is too loud, the sermons too compelling, the fellowship too sweet to notice the simple Savior...
"For He shall grow up before Him as a tender plant, and as a root out of dry ground. He has no form or comeliness; and when we see Him, there is no beauty that we should desire Him. He is despised and rejected by men, a Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. And we hid, as it were, our faces from Him; He was despised, and we did not esteem Him."
The problem is not the Savior. The problem is us. We are not satisfied with this sort of Savior. And we imagine others will not be either. He's not outwardly compelling. So we dress up Him and His message. More lights, more cameras, more artillery. Another high-tech toy added to the church media artillery. Use full color, never black and white. Change the color scheme of the sanctuary. Call it "doing all things with excellence" and we can justify almost anything.
But at some point we need to walk past the real Savior. Hanging naked on the cross. Stripped of every ornament and sensory enticement. We either stop in our tracks, drop to our knees and weep in conviction. Or we wag a finger, mock at the Man and demand a more glorious ending to the story. There is a spirit at work here. And it's not the Holy Spirit. Rather a spirit of Discontent.
I never heard a message preached about discontent. Yet it is one of the most prominent themes in the Bible. Revealed in uncomfortable words: Covetousness... Envy... Strife... Jealousy... Greed. One of the Seven Deadly sins the church used to teach about. Sins that lead to spiritual death because they are willfully committed. Discontent in the heart always manifests itself in deeds. The fruit speaks for itself. So perhaps we can work backward to unravel the Gordian knot of Discontent. Which Jesus do we really prefer? The Suffering servant or the Glorious Man on the Mount of transfiguration. We can't have both this side of eternity.
If ever there is an organic Jesus being preached, it's at the slum Bible Schools. The facilities are simple but functional. The teaching is basic but profound. The students are alert...actively listening, taking notes and asking questions. eight full hours of basking in His light. We all go home exhausted and yet exhilarated. As hundreds of Pastors and Ministry Leaders head home, I shake hands with each one. Sending them off with words of Blessing, Encouragement and Motivation. And they bless me by one thing above all else: their Satisfaction. They are beyond Content. They exude the very essence of "Abundant Living": Thankfulness. Appreciation. Gratitude. Joy. and quite remarkably: Smiles.
Off they go back to their slum communities. Wearing the same clothes I saw last week. And last year. And the year before. Literally. The same shirt with the tattered collar. But it's clean and pressed. Impeccably. They will walk home in there one and only pair of second-hand hard soled shoes. Never set foot on a sidewalk once. Only dusty dirt and rock-strewn paths and sludge-filled waste canals. The first thing they do upon arriving at the Bible School is to clean their shoes. Scraping off the mud, wiping away the dust, and shining the worn-out surface. After all, they're carrying His Name...And entering His house. They would never think of doing otherwise. When we walk with Jesus, we must remember we represent Him to others. This is not an issue of pride or preening before others. Much the opposite. It is a profound understanding of Him Whom we serve. Seeped in the awe and wonder of being called to carry such a Name, and serve such a King. Content with Him. As He is. And the circumstances He has placed us in.
After school I had an appointment with a local pastor. Not one connected with our Ministry. A Pastor of one church. In another realm of Reality. Where people drive to the church. A church with tiled floors, toilets and electricity. This was not some far-flung corner. It was literally minutes from the slum Bible School. I was greeted at the gate by a humble "shomba boy." The local term denoting a yard keeper/gate keeper/servant. Many of our Pastors at the Bible School work such jobs. The man's humble, respectful demeanor was not atypical...nor was the quite desperation in his eyes. I've seen it a thousand times. Hungry. Literally.
As I was led to the Pastor's home, I saw it. In fact, I literally had to step around it. The contrast, the conviction, the conflict swirled in my heart like a whirlwind. Even after 20 years stratified urban ministry, I could scarcely believe what I saw: the 24 pairs of shoes of one Pastor! (see cover photo) To be shined by his shomba boy. And we talked inside his mansion...about Jesus? What Jesus was this? The same one at the Bible School?
Discontent inside will eventually manifest outside. A "different Jesus" inside will likewise reflect outside. When we play in the same spiritual sandbox with the same acquaintances every day, we can become scandalously unaware of Reality. We can become increasingly isolated in our perspective. Oblivious to our self-absorbed quest for Satisfaction; never realizing we are drowning in Discontent. We demand more stimulation. More input. More pleasure. More, more, more.
All the while Jesus is inviting us to come unto Him. To follow Him. It's a dusty, narrow climb up to Calvary. We can't carry any extras. The path is too difficult; the burden is to great; the goal too far. We don't have the luxury of constant consumption, let alone acquiring excess. It's time to sacrifice. It's time to pour out the last and best we have. After all, we're on a mission. "Shomba boys" for the King of Kings.
"Then Jesus said to His disciples, 'If anyone desires to come after me, let him Deny himself, and take up the cross, and follow me. For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it. For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?'"
It's High time we practice Contentment. Time for us to stop buying shoes.
And get walking with Jesus.
