Kim and I were talking the other day about how incredibly radical it is to think about the life of Jesus… I mean, this was no normal guy. I don’t know anyone who has more holidays and world events than this guy! Not just Easter which symbolizes his resurrection from the dead, or Christmas where so many celebrate his birth, even our historical and current time gauge is based off him (BC & AD)! I don’t know any other figure, real or fictional, dead or alive, religious or political, who has had more impact on the world than the man from Nazareth. Even his name has been turned into a curse word for some. That’s wild, I mean, you never hear someone smash their toe and yell, BUDDHA, or GHANDI! For some reason, Jesus is very popular still today. So why? What is it about this man who walked the middle east two thousand years ago?…

I could probably write on this for days. This is what its all about, knowing the life and heart of this man, this God-Man, Jesus. He is wholly unique, incredibly different than what many would expect (probably myself included), 100% radical, fearless, captivating as a leader yet humble and peaceful, a great story teller and a refreshing theologian, he is smart and witty, funny I’m sure and probably strange at times, and one of the things that draws me most to him, he reeks of love and compassion. You read the gospels, compassion oozes out of the pages and rubs off on you from Christ and his actions, not just his words, his actions. That is what I hope to see resurrected this year, a renewed heart of compassion in our world. That I may live in another direction contrary to whatever I may think or have been taught and actually believe that it is better to serve than it is to be served, that it is better to give than it is to receive, that it is better to show mercy, to forgive, to love my enemies and truly pray for those who persecute me… This is the way of Jesus, and this is what inspires me to follow him, his actions. Right out of the tomb and into the streets, carve a path in your neighborhood of redemptive action that cannot be discredited by anyone because it was done through no other motivation except the one the resurrected Jesus called us to… love.