Disturbing the Comfortable

It all started out innocently enough. After lunch one day, Jeremy and I went to Hage's to check out study books that we could possibly use in LIFEGroup next fall. We found one or two that intrigued us, but Jeremy found another book that seemed interesting: Irresistible Revolution by Shane Claiborne.

We paid for our books and went back home. The next time I saw Jeremy he told me "You have to read this book. It's great." As soon as he finished, I followed his recommendation and read through the book. On the back cover it says:

This book will comfort the disturbed and disturb the comfortable.

That last phrase was a pretty big understatement. Shane Claiborne is all about living as an "ordinary radical." He sums it up as living out your day to day life in a lifestyle of radical love. He does this in Philadelphia, PA where he lives in a community known as The Simple Way. Together, they meet each other's needs, take care of each other's financial situations, and serve God in the community. He tells stories of his early start in a "get saved every Sunday" youth group experience, his time spent in Calcutta with Mother Teresa, and his college years where he worked with the homeless in Philly. His entire life is devoted to actually living in a way that shows that he is serving and following Jesus. By taking care of the oppressed, hurting, and homeless, he is being Jesus in his community and loving his neighbor.

I was doing alright with the book until a few chapters in when Shane quotes Soren Kierkegaard in referring to how Christians shirk responsibility.

"The matter is quite simple. The Bible is very easy to understand. But we Christians are a bunch of scheming swindlers. We pretend to be unable to understand it because we know very well that the minute we understand we are obliged to act accordingly. Take any words in the New Testament and forget everything except pledging yourself to act accordingly. My God, you will say, if I do that my whole life will be ruined. Herein lies the real place of Christian scholarship. Christian scholarship is the Church's prodigious invention to defend itself against the Bible, to ensure that we can continue to be good Christians without the Bible coming too close. Dreadful it is to fall into the hands of the living God. Yes, it is even dreadful to be alone with the New Testament."

This part really got to me. It cut right to the core of why I do the things that I do. Too many times (even since reading the book) I find reasons not to get out there to love people and to serve them. I say that I'm not ready. I make up excuses about not being equipped. But the fact of the matter is that I know what I need to do. I need to love my neighbor. I need to take care of widows and orphans. I need to humble myself as a servant for the sake of following Christ.

I read the book about 2 1/2 months ago, but I still have a long way to go. My mindset has changed big time and my experiences in Chicago are a big influence on that as well. The Justice and Mercy series that we just wrapped up follows along these same lines, and they're all pointing me towards action. I need to keep praying so that I can see how God can use me best. But in the mean time, I need to be willing to love in whatever opportunities that arise. The one thing I do know is that I'll never be the same. It's impossible to walk away from reading this book not changed. I was comfortable, and it disturbed me.

I dare you to read it. Let it disturb you.