a tight squeeze

The other day I was sharing what I'm doing to help reverse the devastating effects of malaria in Tanzania with a group of high school kids who are chasing after Jesus. They're pretty much new to the faith and have that wild-eyed look of abandon and passion that I'm sure the disciples had when they were accused of turning the world upside down.

So during the meeting, one of the leaders shared a story that hit me on several levels...She was visiting her daughter at college and the two of them caught the train to go out one night. It was rush hour and they were packed in so tight that a number of times they couldn't close the doors. She noticed a man sitting by himself on a triple seat, taking up almost 3/4 of it himself...due to his rather large size (perhaps 400 lbs.). She sat next to him in the remainder of the space and they chatted for the next half hour. They were about to leave when he stopped her and asked "are you a Christian?" Without hesitation she responded yes. "I thought so" he said, "no one ever sits with me." ...when she finished telling the story my mind raced. It had all the classic elements of the parables that Jesus used with the religious elite...the stories of the great-reversals...I was left with these challenges and thoughts and I pass them onto you;

Jesus said don't only love those who are like you (Luke 6:27-32) who am I sitting next to?

Why am i sitting next to them? To show how great I am, or because Jesus has given me a new heart?

Am I called to change, and will I do it...

I praise God for my friend who loves Jesus so much that she says all the time, "change my heart Lord, I want to be more like you"...praise God we worship a savior who took the seat next to us, and not in spite of who we are, but because of who we are...no matter how difficult or uncomfortable the space was.

... "Don't be selfish; don't live to make a good impression on others. Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourself. Don't think only about your own affairs, but be interested in others, too, and what they are doing. Your attitude should be the same that Christ Jesus had. Though he was God, he did not demand and cling to his rights as God. He made himself nothing;he took the humble position of a slave and appeared in human form. And in human form he obediently humbled himself even further by dying a criminal's death on a cross. Because of this, God raised him up to the heights of heaven and gave him a name that is above every other name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. "

Philippians 2:3-11

...blessings to you all....get on the bus