Please Accept Me

Have you ever had to plead for something? Have you ever had to really cajole someone into going somewhere with you?
Kids do this all the time, with no shame. "Dad can we please, please, please go to the water park (or fill in the blank with the latest, greatest thing)?"

I think that is how some people present our Lord Jesus. That He is pleading and cajoling people to accept Him. Is Jesus saying, "would you please, please, pretty please, accept me into your heart?"

Listen to this quote from David Platt's book, Radical,

"We have taken the infinitely glorious Son of God, who endured the infinitely terrible wrath of God and who now reigns as the infinitely worthy Lord of all, and we have reduced Him to a poor, puny, Savior who is just begging us to accept Him. Accept Him? Do we really think Jesus needs our acceptance?"

The infinitely worthy Savior doesn't need acceptance, He demands surrender.

Anything But Jesus

I was flipping through a book that caught my eye at B and N the other day. The title was "Stuff White People Like" by Christian Lander.

Here is one that I zeroed in on:

"White people will often say they are 'spiritual' but not religious. This usually means that they will believe in any religion that doesn't involve Jesus."

Even here in the insulated Bible Belt people are becoming more and more like this. They will go to church, you can talk about God, but don't really be one of those Jesus freaks. Don't be one of those intolerant, radical followers of Jesus.

It's o.k. to say that you have Jesus in your heart as long as you don't really do what He says, or follow His example.

I think this is becoming more and more prevalent even among church goers. Church is o.k. Let's sing about Jesus, just a little. Say a prayer or two, hear a motivational talk from the "lead pastor". But, don't take any of that stuff too seriously. Especially not the rabid way Jesus said we should be to truly follow Him.

Lander's book on this chapter goes on to say, "The most popular choices include Buddhism, Hinduism, Kabbalah,and, to a lesser extent, Scientology. A few even dip into Isalm, but that's much rarer, since you have to make real sacrifices and actually got to a mosque. For the most part, white people go for religions that produce artifacts and furniture that fit into their homes or wardrobe. They are also particularly drawn to religions that do not require a lot of commitment or donations. When a white person tells you, I'm Buddhist/Hindu/Kabbalahist', the best thing to do is ask how they arrived at their religious decision. The are most likely to involve a trip to Thailand or a college class on religions."

Interesting thoughts!