The Wild One Whose Image We Bear
[Now—is Jesus more like Mother Teresa or William Wallace? The answer is…it depends. If you’re a leper, an outcast, a pariah of society whom no one has ever touched because you are “unclean,” if all you have ever longed for is just one kind word, then Christ is the incarnation of tender mercy. He reaches out and touches you. On the other hand, if you’re a Pharisee, one those self-appointed doctrine police…watch out.]
Indignant because Jesus had healed on the Sabbath, the synagogue leader said to the people, “There are six days for work. So come and be healed on those days, not on the Sabbath.” The Lord answered him, You hypocrites! Doesn’t each of you on the Sabbath untie your ox or donkey from the stall and lead it out to give it water? Then should not this woman, a daughter of Abraham, whom Satan has kept bound for eighteen long years, be set free on the Sabbath day from what bound her?” When he said this, all his opponents were humiliated, but the people were delighted with all the wonderful things he was doing.
(Luke 13:14-17)
“Christ draws the enemy out, exposes him for what he is, and shames him in front of everyone. The Lord is a gentleman??? Not if you’re in the service of his enemy. God has a battle to fight, and the battle is for our freedom.”
“The war horse, the stallion, embodies the fierce heart of his Maker. And so do we; every man is “a stem of that victorious stock.”
“Do you give the horse its strength
or clothe its neck with a flowing mane?
Do you make it leap like a locust,
striking terror with its proud snorting?
It paws fiercely, rejoicing in its strength,
and charges into the fray.
It laughs at fear, afraid of nothing;
it does not shy away from the sword.
The quiver rattles against its side,
along with the flashing spear and lance.
In frenzied excitement it eats up the ground;
it cannot stand still when the trumpet sounds.
At the blast of the trumpet it snorts, ‘Aha!’
It catches the scent of battle from afar,
the shout of commanders and the battle cry.
(Job 39:19-25)
[It then occurred to me that after God made all this, he pronounced it good, for heaven’s sake. It’s his way of letting us know he rather prefers adventure, danger, risk, the element of surprise. This whole creation is unapologetically wild. /…/ No doubt the biggest risk of all was when he gave angels and men free will, including the freedom to reject him—not just once, but every single day. /…/ And he doesn’t walk away from the mess we’ve made it. Now he lives, almost cheerfully, certainly heroically, in a dynamic relationship with us and with our world.]
“God seems to fly in the face of all caution.”
[Do you know why God loves writing such incredible stories? Because he loves to come through. He loves to show us he has what it takes.]
[He is a jealous lover, and his jealousy is for the hearts of his people and for their freedom.]
[God wants to be loved. /…/ God wants to be wanted. And certainly we see that God wants not merely an adventure, but an adventure to share. /…/ And yes, God has a beauty to unveil.]
[A man needs to be tender at times, and a woman will sometimes need to be fierce. But if a man is only tender, we know something is deeply wrong, and if a woman is only fierce, we sense she is not what she was meant to be.]
[The vast desire and capacity a woman has for intimate relationships tells us of God’s vast desire and capacity for intimate relationships. In fact, this may be the most important things we ever learn about God—that he yearns for relationship with us.]
