So the REAL JESUS tells me I have to learn to share. Hhmm. If you read Part I, you know how I described my isolated and introverted childhood, not so good for learning to share. We also shared the analogy of the wolf verses the dog. The dog has wolf ancestry but chooses to love and serve a master. Dogs are such a picture of devotion and choosing to share.
Jesus said the meek shall inherit the earth. Wolves shall not, but the lovable mutt that works their way into your heart will survive! In the above picture, my friend Jason recently took on a new member to his family. Meet Luke. A full blooded yellow Lab.
However, Jason already had one dog, a chihuahua named Zak. And now Zak, who had been an only dog, is having to learn to share!
“And all the believers met together in one place and shared everything they had. They sold their property and possessions and shared the money with those in need.” (Acts 2:44-45)
This is the Jesus I kept bumping into in our large fancy modern Church buildings that cost more to run than what we probably feed the poor, or help our neighbor. I was in a pickle and didn’t know what to do about it. I feel sorry for Zak, but he may be doing better at it, than I.
So I began sharing this spiritual dilemma with our Fellowship we started. We left the modern Church system so we could be REAL, like the Jesus I kept bumping into. As you can imagine, we all three felt the strain of living up to what Jesus actually taught, especially his whole Sermon on the Mount. Blessed are the poor in spirit? Well…maybe because they know what it is to lack, and need to share, in order to survive. Their hopes and dreams have been dashed so many times, now they are a broken vessel no longer prideful or attached to things. But what about me? I’ve always been lower middle class and never lacked. I also have stuff. Not just needs.
We know what it is to live from paycheck to paycheck, and barely squeeze by. But we have a small house of 1400 square feet in the big city. We have transportation, old though they be. We have food, heat, AC, medical if we need it, and a little extra for entertainment, and helping others, but the Jesus I kept bumping into wanted to take things to a much higher level! Because he is LOVE! And it seemed to be connected to COMMUNITY/ GOD’S FAMILY. And it’s all through our New Testament and early Church fathers. There is no denying or escaping it if your HONEST, and much of modern Church IS NOT!
I do love the wolf/ dog/ sheep analogy. They say sheep are the most stupid animal, but they happen to be smart enough to choose following a “higher being” than themself, known as man, also called a shepherd.
The dog also has chosen to follow a higher being, known as man, and master. But the wolf only follows another wolf. He is the alpha, small “a”, and he’s just another wolf.
The real Jesus says, “Follow me.” The real Jesus asked Peter, lovest thou these more than me?
Do I trust him? Do I love him? Am I making disciples? This Jesus tells me in Luke 14:33 that I cannot become his disciple without giving up everything I own. And I am to help the poor. The greater are always supposed to help the lesser, and there is always someone greater than you, but also having less than you. Those with less rarely can do much for those having more. That doesn’t even make sense.
So as I examined my possessions, I still have no real savings, not even a 401K. LOL. That got burned up in my back surgery. Our 2 vehicles are old and needed. The only thing leaping out at me is our small house. So I laid it before the Lord and asked, “What would you have me to do?”
This led to me, as the Bell Sheep of our Fellowship, this led to me sharing the vision of “what to do” with our small Fellowship, of which my wife is one, and Jason the other. Well… as you can imagine… I tried to blame it on the REAL JESUS… but somehow she kept looking at me.
This story will continue in Part 3.
My dog, Shadow. We are dog lovers here.
Path Without End 