A Maturity Test: What Does Jesus Look Like in You?
“And a woman in the town who was a sinner found out that Jesus was reclining at the table in the Pharisee’s house. She brought an alabaster jar of perfume and stood behind him at his feet, weeping, and began to wash his feet with her tears. She wiped his feet with her hair, kissing them and anointing them with the perfume.”
-- Luke 7:37-38
A Question on Maturity
If you could describe one key indicator of Christlike maturity, what would it be?
I'm interrupting the current series because I spent the last few days with friends at a tranquil spot near Gig Harbor, WA, sharing our stories and diving deep into living lives of formation together. My heart is full. This means I didn't make time for my normal writing/thinking, but I was inspired with many new treasures we explored. Thus, I want to take a stab at the question above.
LET'S TAKE A TEST
I'm sure there are many ways to answer that question, but my current favorite captures a deep desire of my heart. It's a test. Let me start by recognizing I would fail this test. I feel some shame about that reality, but I also sense God's smiling, compassionate, loving gaze. What a joy to know that "there is no condemnation for those in Christ..." applies to me and everyone in Christ. I make that confession of failure to avoid later questions. The point of this test is not to pass but rather to feel and then reflect on those feelings and what they indicate.
Read on and mark your emotions. Where does defensiveness, fear, anxiety, criticality, argumentativeness, love, affection, joy, rationalizing, lightheartedness, excitement, surprise arise in you. No, literally, reflect on not just which emotions raise their hands but where in your body they show up. Be aware of how you respond in your body. Does your chest get tight or full, your stomach twist, your shoulders flex or slump, your palms sweat...? As you note whatever you feel, bring God into a conversation about it. Confession (truth telling) is a key to freedom. Okay, let's go.
THE ROOM
Picture yourself alone in a room with one closed door. The room has a comfy couch and a big cushy chair and a couple of lamps emanating warm light. A nice coffee table sits in the middle of the room with two mugs and a rug covers most of the floor. Make yourself comfortable. Picture the colors of the walls and each item of furniture. What design is on the rug? Is there a window? What's the view? The temperature is just right.
You've been told by those in charge that they will bring strangers into the room and your job is to be 100%, fully your truest self. You are to react and receive each person that comes in according to your deepest, truest desire. If you want to sit and talk, do it. If you want to shun them or kick them out, do it. If you want to hug them, do it. You can even slap them, if you wish. You can ask them any question you wish. At some point, if you don't initiate it, those in charge will open the door, ask the visitor to leave and after giving you a break (as long as you need), bring in the next person. None of these people will try to hurt you. You are physically and psychologically/emotionally safe in this room except for your own internal triggers. In other words, you can trust that none of these visitors will attack you in any way. Also, your introvertedness is suspended so you can handle seeing all these people.
Okay, is it clear? Are you ready? Can you picture yourself in the room. Are you standing or sitting? Where are you in the room? What's your posture?
VISITORS
The door opens and the first guest enters. It is a Trans Activist who helped organize the Pride March in your community this past June.
Allow yourself to go through your visit with this person.
Over time the following guests will enter and exit your comfy room:
A white male racist wearing a bright red MAGA hat.
A young Thai prostitute.
A middle-aged pedophile who was arrested for having child porn on his laptop.
Your neighbor from down the street who you have seen but not spoken to.
A member from your local church who you know well.
The Christian pastor who was accused (but never convicted) of having sex with girls from the youth group.
A famous Christian pastor/author you really admire but have never met.
A Muslim Terrorist in full garb as the media would show him.
The female pastor from the most "liberal" Christian church in your town.
The male pastor from the most fundamentalist Christian church in your town.
A Buddhist monk.
A Hindu priest.
An outspoken Black Lives Matter activist in your community.
A Democrat Congressman.
A Republican Congressman.
A pregnant woman.
A woman who got an abortion two months ago.
An abortion doctor.
That person who is always standing in front of the abortion clinic praying for people.
A Captain in the U.S. Army.
A local policeman.
A surly teenager who has spent most of her life in the foster care system.
An twice divorced, overweight forklift driver with tattoos all over his body and a shotgun in the gun rack of his pickup truck.
A very colorful drag queen in full makeup/costume.
A drug addict who has been in and out of rehab for years and always relapses.
The homeless guy who is always asking for money at that intersection on your commute.
A prisoner convicted of armed robbery and murder.
The FBI agent who has been tracking your laptop/phone/tablet and internet usage for the last 6 months.
The door-to-door salesman who won't take no for an answer.
The Jehovah's Witness couple who has some literature for you to read.
The Cru staffer with her college student disciple eager to share the gospel with you.
JESUS IS DELIGHTED
How did that go for you?
Here's my contention, if Jesus were in the room, he would be deeply eager to be with each of those people and sincerely glad they were there.
Each response you or I have is a gift to us we can lay before God and discuss with Him. What does He want to show us? Perhaps we need healing from trauma or some deconstruction or some time or to repent or a mindset shift or to laugh or ? Regardless, He invites us to feel His delight in us. We can only be where we are, and He delights in us.
Let me give two last considerations. Apply these if they are fruitful.
Would your response be different to different visitors if you were being watched by your friends or the visitor's friends or pick a group?
If you looked to the Bible to figure out or to justify how to respond to any of the visitors, go back with those visitors and consider responding just on what your instinct tells you to do and then reflect on that.
CONCLUSION
Again, God delights in you. He created you. He's inviting you deeper and deeper into His Story. It will involve sacrifice and suffering and sorrow and grief and joy and giggles and rest and stress and a host of ambiguity, and each of us will never be alone.
“Difficult people are just like the rest of us, with unfinished stories and broken parts.”
– Unknown.