Would we have been friends?

If I lived 2000 years ago in Israel, I'm not sure I would have been friends with Jesus.

Yup. You read that right. I said it. I really said it.

I'm not sure I would have liked the guy who told his friends that they were wrong and went against what I was told I was suppose to do my whole life. (That's not all He does. But He does that a lot. It'd be annoying, probably.) Is it that the people he hung out with needed that much help, that they were specifically that messed up? Or was it because living life abundantly called for an addition of love and grace requiring change in everyone who desired to know the Living God on a personal level?

I'm reading through a section of the Bible that was written by a guy named Mark. He's one of people who walked around with Jesus for a few years and then wrote down what happened and what was said. If Mark were around today, he'd be a fabulous online journalist. He overuses the word "immediately," showing the timeline of everything. He tells long stories with a few words and jumps from one action scene to the next. With the way he writes, you'd think that Jesus and the disciples had a transporter to get from one place to another.

I digress. Back to the point.

I couldn't help but notice that Jesus tells his closest friends that they are wrong. All. The. Time. These guys confidently argue for who gets to be Jesus' favorite, they try to stop the little children from getting face time with Jesus and they are convinced that Jesus shouldn't be bothered by some who are sick and in need. 

And Jesus tells them that they are wrong. Over and over and over again. I wonder if they sometimes thought that Jesus was being mean? I wonder if they sometimes were a little embarrassed? And I wonder if they were confused as to why Jesus was disagreeing with what they thought was appropriate and fair?

But I also wonder if they saw Jesus for who he was - Lord of their lives - and so his opinions, corrections and answers invoked feelings of clarity, confidence, joy and love...instead of denial, frustration or embarrassment?

We are much like these guys who asked Jesus questions. We want to be favored. We want to control what others do. And we want to protect those who we love the most. We want to be right. 

We live in a world that over-emphasises comfort and acceptance. The only time someone ever seems to be considered wrong is if he or she tells someone else that they are wrong about something. There's a perspective that's considered different and right for almost every given question...or so it seems. (I started to include that in this blog and realized that it would be so long that no one would would ever read it, so just go with it, OK?) 

Jesus wouldn't fit into this "it's all good" world. He gave answers. Specific ones. Of course, most of the time people asked Him questions, He asked them a question in return, which I'm sure was rather frustrating. But when it came time, He spoke Truth. Yes, Truth with a capital "T." He came with authority and could call his buddies on habits and priorities when they were not in line with God's agenda. And they seemed to be OK with this. We don't know how they responded emotionally or what they said when Jesus walked away after sharing his wisdom, but we do know that they continued to follow him and eventually all were killed for their beliefs, so it's not like Jesus offended them in a way that ruined relationship.

I wonder if I would have walked away? Would I have seen Jesus for who he was and is - God Almighty, Lord of my life - and, in turn, opened up all the junk in my heart, allowing him to speak Truth that lead to authentic and visible life change? Because if I knew deep down inside and trusted in such an incredibly love, it would have been safe and filled with grace and joy. I would have known that His words were out of tender care and mercy. It would have been OK. Or, would I have walked away, wanting to stick to the rules that brought me comfort, never embracing life to the fullest that He so desperately wants us all to live?