Mark Galli ‘Good News: Jesus Is Not Nice’, Christianity Today (29 September 2011).
In an article adapted from his latest book, Chaos and Grace: Discovering the Liberating Power of the Holy Spirit (Baker Books), Mark Galli expounds on the disruptiveness and chaos that comes with believing in God and following Jesus.
‘The problem’, he says – ‘our temptation to make Christianity a religion of order and safety and niceness – begins with our failure to grasp who Jesus Christ is and how, in the Holy Spirit, he continues to speak and work among us. Or as Dorothy Sayers put it:
‘We have very efficiently pared the claws of the Lion of Judah, certified him “meek and mild,” and recommended him as a fitting household pet for pale curates and pious old ladies. To those who knew him, however, he in no way suggests a milk-and-water person; they objected to him as a dangerous firebrand.’
‘Jesus refuses to be put in a religious box. He’s not a nice Savior, whose goal is to make us feel better about ourselves and become well-adjusted, productive members of society. All that is well and good, and it is part of our lot in life. But this is not the mission of Jesus. He’s not interested in nice, well-adjusted people, but mostly in people who forgive and love. And sometimes he has to bring a little chaos into our lives to help us become the people he’s called us to be.’
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