Tuesday, October 11, 2011

The Preacher, the Prophet...

The other day I had my music on shuffle, and on came this song I had never heard before. And so I did what I always do with songs that I enjoy, put it on repeat and played it till I knew the song backwards and forwards, and then played it some more. It really is a good thing that I wasn't alive during the hayday of records, because all of mine would have been worn, scratched, and every other bad thing that can happen from over-playing them.

Back to my point. There's a line in this song that just strikes a cord with me. "The Preacher, the Prophet, I've never known, but the Jesus of Prostitutes is chasing my soul."


Now let that sink in.


Which Jesus was it that made you turn around? I doubt it was the Prophet. Being told all that you're capable of can be terrifying. The Preacher may get a tad intimidating without a foundation. But the Jesus who hung out with the prostitutes and tax collectors, who called the fishermen who fought, who plays with the small children? I'm guessing He had the most impact. If you haven't met Him yet, you seriously should. He's one cool guy.

Now you may have read that, and are now thinking I'm deep in blasphemy territory. Take a deep breath and continue reading. There is a place for The Prophet, the Teacher, the Preacher, the One who Over Threw the Temple. All of them are essential, vital parts for our walk with the Lord. However, when interacting with the World, Jesus wasn't all of those people. He was the Jesus of Prostitutes. He spent time with them, defended them, told them they were worth more. My guess is that if Jesus had approached the "woman of the city," in Luke 7 as He had approached the religious money changers of the Temple in Matthew 21, she may not have been so moved to change her ways. He threw over the tables of those that were self proclaimed "righteous" and called them out. But with her? He compared her to the "righteous," and she came out on top. He forgave her sins. He told her that her faith had saved her, to have peace.

We desperately need the Prophet to enlighten us, the Teacher to teach, the Preacher to preach. We need the Over Thrower to call us out. But we have to have the Jesus of Prostitutes to bring us to that place, to sit with us and hold our hand through our correction, to keep us at peace, making sure the whole time that we know we are saved and loved. And so I have a simple question to ask you.






Which Jesus are you portraying to the World?











Thank you so much for reading. It means more than I can express. 

P.S. The song is "Hawthorne" by Mat Kearney.

2 comments:

  1. I think us Christians need to be so much more aware of how the world interprets our words & actions. We are Jesus to so many more than we are even aware of!

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  2. Lauren, I love your post and completely agree with you. We need all of Jesus for every part of our life because He is our all in all! Great thoughts and I am so glad your are blogging because this is proof that you have great things to say and inspire others with. It blessed me! Please keep it up!

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