Great words from E. Stanley Jones

Break Jesus If You Can

There came the time when I inwardly let go. I became willing to turn Jesus over to the facts of the universe. I began to see that there was only one refuge in life and that was in reality, in the facts. If Jesus couldn’t stand the shock of the criticism of the facts discovered anywhere, if he wasn’t reality, the sooner I found it out the better. My willingness to surrender Christ to the facts was almost as great an epoch in my life as my willingness to surrender to him. In the moment of letting go I could almost feel myself inwardly turning pale. What would happen? Would the beautiful dream fade? To my happy amazement I found that he not only stood, but that he shone as never before. I saw that he was not a hothouse plant that would wither under the touch of criticism, but he was rooted in reality, was the very living expression of our moral and spiritual universe – he was reality itself.

I have, therefore, taken my faith and have put it out before the non-Christian world for these seventeen years and have said, “There it is, my brothers, break it if you can.” And the more they have smitten upon it the more it has shone. Christ came out of the storms and will weather them. The only way to kill Christianity is to take it out of life and protect it. The way to make it shine and show its genius is to put it down in life and let it speak directly to life itself. Jesus is his own witness. The Hindus have formed societies call Dharm Raksha Sabhas – Societies for the Protection of Religion. Jesus does not need to be protected. He needs to be presented. He protects himself.

-- (The Christ of the Indian Road: Abingdon Press: New York, 1925, 1927 – pp. 140-141).

In my congregation we have been dealing with some ongoing questions about what it means to be the church in our local neighborhood and town, what it means to be a Christian people, a witnessing people, a Christ-centered people. And, we have been asking these questions in the context of some very real accusations that have been thrown against the church in America these days. Also, we have been asking these questions in light of the fact that many believers are bailing out on the church because they see it as hypocritical and phony. This is of great concern to us.

In these days of Real or imagined accusations, and choices to walk away from the church and maybe even the faith, local churches live in this culture at this time in history. This is our field. In that light, we have been asking:

What can we do to capture the imagination of people, for a lifetime, to follow Jesus, and not drop out?

What can we do to better tell the story of Jesus so that people will be drawn to Him and come to faith in Him?

Why would anyone today who is not following Jesus decide to follow Him?

What is there about Jesus that is inviting to people? That is, in the clash and struggle for the hearts and minds of people, why would someone choose Jesus?

What is there about the Church that might awaken someone's appetite for Jesus?

How can we correct the perception that the church is hypocritical and phony? And, how can we convince people in the church who might, in fact, be hypocritical and phony, to own their sin, repent, and turn to Christ in true brokenness and humility?

These aren’t the only questions to be asked, but they have certainly grounded our feet in reality as we seek to be honest in our quest to be faithful to call of Christ in our town.

If Jesus is building His Church then it behooves those of us who believe in Him to bring our lives into conformity with who He is and what He is doing. Maybe this is why Jesus said, “If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross and follow me” (Matt. 16:24).

Sounds like serious business to me, demanding “"my soul, my life, my all!" ("When I Survey the Wondrous Cross" by Isaac Watts, 1707).

Perhaps you’ve read the following entries found in the Journal of John Wesley. I pass them along to you today in hopes that if you are discouraged about your ministry for Christ, don’t be. Rather, turn your ministry over to Christ again. Stay faithful. Trust His faithfulness in you. Keep your eyes on Jesus and let the Holy Spirit continue to work into the very fiber of your life the grace, mercy and majesty of God. It is God who is at work in you, so trust His presence in you, and stay true to what you know to do, leaving results to God.

Hear Mr. Wesley’s Testimony:

"Sunday a.m., May 5 -Preached in St. Ann's; was asked not to come back any more.
Sunday p.m., May 5- Preached at St. John's; deacons said, 'Get out and stay out.'
Sunday a.m., May 12 -Preached at St. Jude's; can't go back there either.
Sunday p.m., May 12-Preached at St. George's; kicked out again.
Sunday a.m., May 19- Preached at St. Somebody Else's; deacons called a special meeting and said I couldn't return.
Sunday p.m., May 19-Preached on the street; kicked off the street.
Sunday a.m., May 26- Preached out in a meadow; chased out of meadow when a bull was turned loose during the service.
Sunday a.m., June 2-Preached out at the edge of town; kicked off the highway.
Sunday p.m., June 2-Afternoon service, preached in pasture; 10,000 people came."

That's Wesley's story. It may not be yours; but the God He served and you now serve is still God. We don't know exactly and precisely where our stories will go with God, but we do know that we are in His hands, that He is guiding and leading with divine insight and authority. So, stay faithful, trusting His faithfulness in you. God is present and He is at work.