Does Christianity suck? A quick look at a great quote rather than a long apologetic about the faith.

Here is a great and challenging quote from Paul Metzger's book on John's gospel "When Love Came To Town" in the resonate commentary series.

 

" Some of us have been playing the part of a vacuum cleaner salesperson with our "before (I met Jesus) and after ( I met Jesus) sales pitch." We promote Jesus like he's a new and improved Hoover, who will suck out all the messiness and dirt from our lives-only to find out to our horror and dismay, that he actually makes things messier.

 

The Bible does not read like a sales pitch, however. It's about life, not an appliance, there are no guarantees in the Bible against messy spills."

 

I'm still processing it but here is a couple of quick comments... My daughters favourite Bible verse is John 16:33 ‘I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.’ and I like to think she likes it out of its wisdom and truth rather than its summing up of teenage angst. Jesus facing his own betrayal and death is uber-honest with his disciples  about the potential suckiness (new word in English language) and the hope that Jesus his teaching and action cans bring in the midst of that... not as a cure all, permanent happy pill, that leaves us skipping across the surface of life... or as some would have us believe skimming the cream off the top of life, but a deep engagement with real life in all its complexities and foibles, with the assurance of Christ's presence and the guidance of the Holy Spirit in the midst of the mess. 

 

Again I love Leonard Sweet' great reworking of the Jesus is the answer sales pitch... (not quoting him here rather paraphrasing...'Jesus is the question, the burning question that will not go away.'