“There were naturally going to be advocates of a ‘third way’ who thought that perhaps there was a better way, a bit less bloody. A bit less exciting. But alas for them, we are called to follow Christ the disruptor, Christ the troublemaker, Christ the flipper of tables, Christ the crucified. There are far too many Christians who want to preach Christ crucified without any real understanding of why He was crucified. They understand why the Father sent Him to the cross, but with almost no understanding of why men sent Him there.” — Douglas Wilson, Battle Joined
Most Christians are comfortable with the fact that the Father sent His one and only Son into the world and onto the Cross. This is the hope of our salvation, after all. He died in our place and for our sins. And so far, so good. Praise God. Christians identify with the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus inasmuch as they receive His perfect life, give Him all their sins to die for, and hope in their own resurrection from the dead in Him.
That all said, many Christians are uncomfortable being identified with Him in His controversy. There is a reason men wanted to kill him and we don't want to be hated by anyone. There is a reason people considered Him a trouble-maker and we don't want to cause anyone trouble. So, we have a hard time identifying with Him in that regard.
"Jesus promised his disciples three things–that they would be completely fearless, absurdly happy, and in constant trouble." — G.K. Chesterton
If we are going to truly follow Jesus, we will need to get far more comfortable with being uncomfortable and even more comfortable with making other people uncomfortable.
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