Controversial Faith

As we take a few minutes to hear from God today, let's listen to what he's saying to us through the words of John 7:14-52. Pretty interesting reading!

This whole chapter is a picture of controversy over Jesus. We will and do find ourselves at times embroiled in controversy with unbelievers. If you’re going to choose the way of Christ, you cannot and will not fit in with the ways of the world. And some people are highly resistant or even antagonistic to anything they hear relating to faith in Jesus. The way of Christ always runs against the grain. This statement jumps out at me:

But no one would say anything publicly about [Jesus] for fear of the Jews. (v. 13)

God still uses people of faith to draw others to faith, but not if we’re afraid to speak of him. Fear of controversy. Fear of rejection. Fear of getting our chain pulled by the boss or the teacher. Several years ago, France made it illegal to wear any kind of religious symbol in the public schools—no crosses, no fish, no Muslim or Jewish symbols or dress. There is a definite agenda to intimidate believers, to push us underground. “Have faith if you want,” they chide, “but keep it to yourself. Lock it up behind closed doors. Don’t expose anyone else to it. You might offend someone. You might stir up controversy.”

Jesus didn’t shy away from the controversy over him. The contrast couldn’t be any clearer than the crowd—“No one would say anything public about him for fear”—and Jesus:

"Here he is speaking publicly” (v. 26).
Some Christians seem to have an obsession with controversy, but it’s the wrong kind. It’s mainly controversy with other believers. In all of that, the message of Jesus that invites a lost and broken world to him gets lost and people can’t hear it for all the arguing between his followers. Let’s take the controversy to the unbelieving world.

That takes some guts. Where does Jesus get the courage to speak in the face of controversy? I am drawn to what he said:

“I am not here on my own, but he who sent me is true.” (v. 28)

Does that speak to you like it does to me? Is there courage for us there? When I need to speak a word about the love of Christ to someone, but I’m afraid of sparking a controversy, what if I think to myself, “I am not here on my own. But Jesus, who sent me to this person, is true.” When I’m wanting to encourage a coworker to discover Jesus, but I'm intimidated because the expectations are to keep your faith out of the workplace, instead I hear a different voice: “I am not here on my own. But Jesus, who sent me to share him with others, is true.”
That’s the language of faith. When I let myself believe it from my deepest heart, fear gets pushed aside and the language of faith pours out.

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