Friday, December 16, 2011

I think I met with Jesus today...

Steve Jobs said "The people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world are the ones that do."
This morning a man came to see my husband. This man named Neil Hart came into my house, invited of course, and his prescence took up centre stage. He didn't fuss around with unnecessary etiquette. He wore clean casual clothes and was  unshaven. I could tell he wasn't interested in the house, the decor, my artwork spread all over the house or my messy kitchen! He sat on one of the stools at the kitchen bench and began talking about things in life that matter to him and ultimately to human beings on this planet earth. He is currently delving into how we as a society and church body shun homosexuals or as they prefer to be named 'gay people.' He is a voice crying out in the wilderness Anyone who has ears, listen! He is thorough in his defence, and speaks from the grass roots of our often abused and misquoted sacred bible. I might add here that Neil does not proclaim to be gay.

So many Christians are in no position to judge others from their own puny worldview, lacking in knowledge, wisdom and understanding. Have they truly heard what that individual soul is honestly feeling and experiencing in their heart and in their life?
 I knew my own gay son was spot on when I tried to do the right thing as a Christian and get him to attend an Exodus meeting, so that his mind could be changed and he would no longer be a sinner outside of God's grace. My son shouted back to me, "Why don't you and Dad go to the meeting, cos I don't have a problem with being gay. You are the ones who have a problem with it so maybe you should go!"

Neil is a rebel with a cause, and that cause is compassion with a capital C and grace with a capital G.  He knows what it is like to be rejected, judged, have bullshit smeared all over his reputation. He knows about the need to withdraw for self protection and preservation. But no part of his journey was in vain and now he is stepping up to bring truth and justice where there is none, to defend the weak and confused, to expose those who are acting falsely out of fear and to empower the disempowered. 

After Neil left I began to think about how much of my life has been lived trying to play by the rules that are laid down for good order and my protection. Like parents, teachers, co-workers, bosses, church and government. These are all well and good, but there have been significant times in my life when I have wanted to go against the expectations, the rules. Instead  I complied and felt confused and dis-satisfied. I would bury those thoughts and move onward like a 'good christian soldier.' I knew at the time, that the answers given to me were wrong but I was not empowered or knowledgable enough to stand up for the truth within me.

There will always be those big gaping holes in your government, your church your job, maybe in your marriage, or the way your family and kids are being treated. Deep inside you, is the truth for that situation you are dealing with.You know what to do but you have to find the people out there that can help you to follow what you believe! Jesus is one of those people. Unfortunately, the church try to be like Jesus and fall into the habit of mis-interpretting the way that Jesus bought healing and hope and mixing that up with their own unresolved fear.
 Put simply, Jesus wants to sit down next to the wounded you and listen to what you are thinking and feeling and support you in your plight. Just because authorities like theologians, doctors, politicians, writers, musicians, family members, christians and so on and so on take a stand against you, does not mean that your stand is wrong or to be discounted. It is right for you and it will never leave you, even if you try to bury it. It is part of your authentic self trying to breathe!


Pastor Neil Hart is the wounded healer, standing up for the Orthodox Christ Jesus of the Bible. The One that came to set free all those caught up in other peoples rules and regulations and especially those being threatened and manipulated with God's commandments. These rules may work for some of us, some of the time, but never for all of us all of the time.
Where is the flexibility in our hearts to love the individuals who are right before us, hear their story and validate their existence?

That is why I say....I think I met Jesus today. If Jesus came into todays world, it would be someone like Neil. Though he was in my home for a short time and mainly spoke to Greg, he has no idea of the impression he made on me. My heart has been stirred, my esteem uplifted, my faith strengthened, my thoughts challenged, my actions encouraged and my hope in Christ earthed in the here and now. I wasn't instructed to read my bible and pray, even though these are good things to do. I simply saw a man who is very focused, getting on with a cause he is passionate about, because he knows from his study of the Word of God and the information he is gleaning from our church leaders and world leaders along with his own personal conviction, that the truth must prevail.



5 comments:

  1. Utterly blown away. I vaguely remember him from when I was a kid and had little interaction with his kids at pre-Con camp but wow, wow, wow! I see why you and Chef were bouncing off the walls today, how could you not be inspired? How can you help but re-commit to God after an encounter like that?!?

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  2. Thanks apples! Take note Chef didn't have my experience. He and N have been working together for some time now and Chef has his own personal thoughts and perspectives that are very different to mine. I think one of the reasons Chef was happy today was because I came to meditation with him for the first time in Perth. Great that you were there too!

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  3. Penny in the air and...Penny drops. Okay, well that would make sense but you both seemed to be buzzing yesterday. I hope you keep well and don't catch any lurgy from me after today's visit! As for the rest of what was discussed, I shall put pen to gloriously beautiful paper and begin my homework!

    love,
    Plenty of Apples

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  4. Out of curiousity, are you okay with using names? I noticed in your comment you used one of my nicknames for someone and an initial for another yet you made reference to someone's full name in the actual post. Apart from maybe once or twice, I've stuck with nicknames or really ambiguous descriptors so much so that you yourself have read certain pieces not realising they were about events you were involved in! But yes, given your background and what not...I'm rather curious!

    Plenty of Apples

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  5. Hi apples, I was merely using the nicknames in my previous comment for convenience and fun. See my next post coming soon titled 'to name or not to name on ones blog' for more info on my thoughts. Jx

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