You ever meet or observe someone and think, “Who in THE WORLD is that!?” or maybe “Who in the world do they THINK they are?” This is the type of person that makes you question the moment or maybe even humanity as a whole! Things are going along rather ordinary, within acceptable limits and then some shifts in the universe. This could be for a good cause or reason or for bad. There’s just something about them or their decisions or how they approach life that you can’t not notice and you are different in that moment and quite possibly from then on.
I think we’re all ready for change, all the time. We want or need change in our finances or in our relationships. We desire change in our careers or free time. We want disruption but we want it WHEN we want it and in THE RIGHT direction (the direction we want). We want the bad things disrupted and righted and we want the good things uninterrupted and continued. We have it in our minds what life should look like, how we should live or how we wish we would live and that consciousness between our ears guides us like a compass; more than we know! Truth be told, our compass is mostly not a compass at all since compasses always possess a true north and let’s face it – we move the needle of our compass often ignoring a true north. Our compass has no glass face so we in our beliefs of the moment direct the needle where we will, mostly subconsciously. Often as we get older, we find our own thinking can lead to regret, so we gradually give up our individualism and surrender to coaches or advisors, spouses or mentors, hopefully regret leads us to God, His word and Jesus (the absolute True North).
So when someone like this comes into my life, I can’t help but be fascinated in the moment and in the process of how they live life and how (or whether or not) life will accept them. What will this world think of this person who’s obviously at the beat of their drum and not worried about the beat of mine? We met two guys last week and got to witness how a moment in time was processed by both of them and maybe what was most powerful was that they were both disrupters, both willing to be so counter cultural and they were both standing on the same platform in history at the same exact time and no doubt because of that you and I are writing/reading this email right now about Jesus, the greatest Disrupter of all time.
One man once known as a fighter, most likely quick to temper or at least the guy left standing at the end and the other a Roman soldier chosen to guard him in his last few minutes on earth before he’s beheaded for his disruption. History says that this guard “heard the testimony” (got to know) the disruptor and because of this story gave his life to Jesus and was beheaded with him. This once “last man standing” instead allowed himself to be led to the slaughter and because of how this Roman guard (who probably had a family, hobbies, dreams and aspirations) was changed in that moment and chose death because of the disruption in his spirit from meeting James, known as one of the “Sons of Thunder”.
Had James not grown in his faith, become more like Jesus, allowed himself not only to be martyred but did it in style caring for the guy leading him to the sword, that guard may have lived out his days never knowing Jesus. I’m sure his family was bewildered when they found he didn’t come home from work that day, his friends must have had to process and reason and search for the same meaning he had found. His death had disrupted lives more than his life.
The Bible you hold in your hand is much more than black and white, more than words on a page, more than “Bible Stories” you learned as a child. That library was specifically written for you so that you could find true North, just as this guard did, just as James had.
Admit it – your compass is faulty, you need a new one, Jesus is that compass and the Bible is a 3D, technicolor, immersive and interactive guide to living a life that turns this world upside down.
This is the story we’re blessed with as Christians, and in this world we live with the stories of pain, anger, shame, betrayal, disappointment and doubt – this is the story the world needs to hear…
So let’s go tell it.
Jared Dean