THE WEEKLY WALK – March 12, 2012 – the Outlaw

“Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning it’s shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart” (Hebrews 12:2-3)

I just finished John Eldredge’s “Beautiful Outlaw”.  He ends the book by pleading with his readers to hold on to this, to hold on to what we just experienced together.  i thought it was a brilliant way to end a book.  so many times i finish a book and move on to the next one without applying the principles that i just learned.

the principle in this book is simple.  Jesus is life.  Jesus should be in every aspect of my life.  He should be in everything that i do.  Here’s a quick excerpt from the book that hits this right on the head:

“When i’m in Christ or he’s in me or however you describe that, everything is different-the way i see myself, the way i see you.  i am the man i want to be.  as we love him, experience him, allow his life to fill ours, the personality of Jesus transforms our personalities.  the timid become bold and the bold become patient and the patient become fierce and the uptight become free and the religious become scandalously good. They look to him and become radiant (Ps. 34:5).  they looked to Jesus and became like him.  loving Jesus helps us to become what human beings were meant to be.  as Athanasius said “he became what we are that we might become what he is“…..you realize that whether we know it or not, whether we like it or not-in all our efforts we are continually portraying the personality of God to the world.”

wow.  in all our efforts, we are continually portraying the personality of God to the world.  think about that just for a minute.  think about your day, think about how you represented yourself today to the people that you interacted with.  i’m actually ashamed right now.  i walked past no less than five people today that needed monetary help and i did nothing.  kept on walking.  i walked past people that were hungry today and did nothing.  did i smile to the cashier at the Starbucks that i had breakfast at.  i think so, can’t remember.

the message of the book is plain & simple.  jesus was a guy that people wanted to be around, a guy that people could relate to.  he was easy to talk to. he loved and loved well.  he was compassionate, kind, caring, helpful, loving, a friend, a companion.  he did it with ease, he was humble about it.  never boasting but giving all the credit to his father in heaven.  Jesus became what we are so that we could become what He is.  Am i getting closer to what He is, do i have those traits?  sometimes.  i’d like to have them more.

Eldredge goes on to say that every morning now he prays this prayer – “Lord Jesus, i give my life to you today, to live your life”.

This desire, to know the real Jesus, is something I strive for.  He’s someone i want to be around more often.  i stumble, i fall, i continue to frustrate myself with how ridiculously i look at life sometimes, but if i strive for Him more, maybe some of those things will change, maybe i won’t stumble as much, maybe i’ll have the right words to say to someone at the right time.  maybe Jesus will shine just a little bit more through me and maybe the world will see the personality of God a little bit clearer though his child.

i encourage you to read this book.  As Eldredge says at the end of the book “Let his life fill yours, introduce him to others, there are a lot of people out that there need to know this Beautiful Outlaw”.

check out more info on this at http://www.beautifuloutlaw.net

thanks for reading, pls comment here on this page…..

Posted on March 10, 2012 by Dave Pettigrew in Musings