Last month I asked for your thoughts. A few of you took me up on it. Below is an online conversation I had with Jim Paulin:
Hello Andrew: I just have one comment for you. As has always been the case, I believe “there is need of only one thing,” which is Jesus Christ Himself (Luke 10:42). The Good News, of course, is that he is indeed here in the Holy Spirit and is at work building his Kingdom. As long as we stay focused on Jesus and continue to proclaim him as Lord and Saviour, then whatever becomes of us we really have nothing to fear.
As for the Record, I think you and all the others who put it together are doing a fine job. —Jim Paulin, Ottawa
Thank you, Jim. Since the cover story for May was about best practices, let me ask you, and others who might be reading this: What are some best practices you have in your life for proclaiming Jesus? How do we proclaim Jesus when grocery shopping? How do we stay focused on Jesus when we’re inching slowing during rush hour? How do we keep Jesus in our hearts when work dumps some of those dog-files at us and we know we have to slog through them no matter what?
I think we all have our personal strategies. I’d like to hear them. —Andrew
Hello, Andrew: First, I believe we proclaim our trust in Jesus when we find the humility, courage, stamina and faith to get out of bed and face the joys, the sorrows, the slog and the excitement of each day. Jesus said that he came so that we might live and live abundantly, so I think just living each day is a good and rather important place to start in the face of everything that threatens to break our spirits.
Second, we proclaim our trust in Jesus when we find the courage to tackle the most difficult questions, including such chestnuts as the problem of evil. Indeed, a very hard problem is how any sane person in our time and place could possibly take Jesus seriously as God incarnate. To proclaim Jesus is in part to face and discuss such questions head on, hopefully in a right and always mutually respectful spirit.
Third, I think we proclaim our trust in Jesus in community and in particular in the community of the church. It’s in showing up for church services, doing the grunt work of committees and dishwashing, and in being there for our church family members when they need it that we make a rather public statement of our faith. Those communities of the faithful don’t need to meet in churches or to be led by professional clergy, although they certainly can be. But from the beginning, followers of Jesus have gathered to express and proclaim the faith, which will always have its place in addition to individual spiritual disciplines.
Fourth, we proclaim our trust in Jesus when we refuse to conform to the world’s rules, to play the usual games of getting ahead at the expense of others, putting others down rather than building them up, bending or ignoring the rules whenever we think no one else might notice, criticizing God for not creating a better world, and generally behaving as if we are god and God is either irrelevant or non-existent. That is, we proclaim our faith in Jesus when, while accepting that we are no better than anyone else, we at least try on occasion to live as Jesus would have it.
—Jim
I encourage the rest of you to add your voices to this conversation.
