Safe disciples

written by Stephan Joubert

"Christianity is illegal — is there enough evidence to convict you?" That is what Peter Rollins asks in The Orthodox Heretic, following a story that he tells. It floored me. Are all my talks about the Lord the big mark of my faith? Or maybe all my sermons? Or possibly the prayers and bible studies? Do I need to do more of it all? Do I need to preach, write, pray or talk more? I can so easily soothe my conscience — as if with sleeping pills — by thinking that all the above has to do with the heart of the gospel. I can so easily pull out some of the testimonies of people who are touched by these things. But is that enough evidence before the rest of humanity that I am a follower of Jesus?

In what way do our life-stories tell the eternal story of Christ? How do normal actions of walking a second mile, suppressing anger and opening hearts and wallets for broken ones, strangers, unimportant ones and who else, reflect the fact that Jesus is prevailing in our lives? What is the use if only our faith is in line with Scripture, but our lives are in line with the rest of this consumer-driven society of ours? What then is the point of it all? Then we are merely busy with a religious piety competition.

Texts like Luke 10 and Matthew 25 need to become our new route indicators if we want to call ourselves disciples of Christ. The Sermon on the Mount's path of forgiveness, compassion, peace and living radically different needs to become our only compass. Otherwise we are merely safe disciples who offend no one and do nothing to fundamentally change society.