Mother Teresa v William Wallace

I read reacently, which Jesus would people think you are, a humble and compassionate Mother Teresa or a warrior with passion and commitment to bring a revolution? Something to contemplate in the days we are living in. Which Jesus does our world need? Our churches need? Before we find a resolve, let us define the two different sides of who our Lord was.

A heart of Christ revealed in Mother Teresa:

History has the rich fulness of a lady that loved the poor to the point that she gave her life for the 'salvation' of many. She submitted to a religious system, politics within that religious system that hindered her mission in life. She was submitted to such scorn from not only the world but the very system to which she submitted to.

There was a side of Jesus that also submitted to a system that had so much politics in it that it eventtually took His life. Can you see Him entering the Temple, the place of worship knowing the leaders in place were going to try and trick Him in a question, try to disprove all of His works, condemn the good He would do and accuse Him of being endowed with power from the eternal enemy, satan. Have you mentally entered the court room where the leaders do not have the guts to stand up against the evil, politically driven religious world? Could you keep your mouth shut? Would your answers be calm and short?

A heart of Christ revealed in William Wallace:

Can you watch "Braveheart" without admiring a man who suffered ridicule, betrayal, physical pain, loneliness, and eventual death for something he believed his country needed. Can you hear him yell, 'FREEDOM' just seconds before they removed his head.

Do you see that side of Jesus? Can you see Him standing in the Temple, braiding and assembling the whip knowing what He was about to do would cause an upheaval of a system set in place originally by our Father in Heaven (of which He particpated in)? Can you feel the shock of the people who had watched Him take the little ones in His lap as the disciples had tried to usher them out of the way tip the tables over? Can you see the confusement? What happened to the one who was teaching to turn the other cheek in there with a whip? What happened to this loving individual that would cause Him to elevate His voice and began to turn tables over and whip the merchants out of the market place given to them?

As we face people around the world that are removing Christians heads, what role will we take? Some of us have discussed it, 'do we stand there and turn the other cheek and let them remove our head or do we go down swinging'? Our Jewish friends have told us that they are not like the Jewish people that 'humbly' went into the cattle cars to the concentration camps. As Evangelical Christians, should we humble ourselves or should we put the resolve to learn from our Jewish brothers and at least attack our enemy where they would have to take our heads with some resistence.

As this question griped my thoughts, after a few moments of introspection that revealed my truest desire of life. I concluded, as the uncertainities of life come, may the Holy Spirit be more active in my life than ever before. Our Lord told us not to fear when we were brought before the evil courts of this world because the Holy Spirit would give us the words to speak. It would be a natural conclusion that He would also give us the correct actions. Holy Spirit, it is my desire to spend enough time listening to your direction that you can speak through those crisis moments in my life to give me direction. If I am to humbly submit to a system for the greater good, give me the grace to keep my mouth shut, stand down when told to and be a gentle lover of your wounded and broken people, let it be. However, if in another situation the call is to stand and fight, resist any hindering words or actions, to charge in the face of seemingly certain defeat and to lay my life down swinging for the cause, give me the resolve to lay it all down. Let me never be so locked in during these times of uncertainty to one action or the other that I miss the greater call of the Commander and Chief of the Eternal Kingdom that I serve.