A call worth answering...

So I have started to re-read the book Barbarian Way by Erwin McManus, but in a different light. When I first read the book some 4-5 years ago, I was still a cop. And anytime a cop reads a book about being a barbarian…well you know what happens…and if you don’t, you are about to. I only looked for certain portions of the book that talked about being raw, untamed, and just….well….wild. I was looking for a reason to go against the grain, to hold onto this have to be tough, rugged, and harsh mentality. I wanted to be able to justify “getting in someone’s face” about not putting God as a priority in their lives. I guess there was this “spiritual high” that I wanted to maintain, because it made me feel good. I mean I was a cop, reading a book about being a barbarian was like an adrenaline rush for me. But all that I remembered from the book was the part in the beginning about the movie Brave Heart, because Brave Heart is a manly movie, and a cop can identify with being manly and wanting to save the world!!

But as I read Barbarian Way now, I see that it is more than just living like a crazy lunatic for Jesus. it’s more than just being that dude that is always running around saying “churchy” clichés. It’s more than just being “obnoxious for Jesus”. It’s about going against culture. It’s about following God, knowing you have to die to yourself and sacrifice a whole heck of a lot. It’s about unprejudiced love for people. It’s about looking like a lunatic to the religious who walk around thinking Christianity is about fairy tales and happy endings.

In chapter 2 of Barbarian Way, McManus talks about how John the Baptist was a barbarian. Not because of his choice of clothing (camel skins), not because he ate locust and honey, not because he lived in the wilderness, it’s because he followed the will of God, no matter what. No matter if it called him to be labeled an outcast, no matter if people looked at him funny, no matter if it cost him his life, which it ultimately did…..he did what it took, no matter what, no expectations, no excuses.

So fast forward to the year 2011, we as Americans have the freedom to do, and believe, and become whatever we want. If we want to be a doctor fine, we want to be a Buddhist fine, if we want to live in a townhouse fine. We live in a culture that tells us we have to do unto others before they do unto you. A culture that says, if you’re not 1^st your last. A culture that is me-centered, forget about the nation of Japan who is struggling to just make it day to day, I want more money in my 401K!!

What happened to Jesus’ command to love God with all your might, all your soul, and all your strength, and then love others as yourself? What happened to what followers of Jesus looked like after he went to heaven? When people were in need, they didn’t look to FEMA or to the government, they looked to the church, and not a building neither, but to the people. And how did they know to go to the people, because the people lived as barbarians, living out the will of God in their lives, even though it looked like madness to the religious.

So as I am re-reading Barbarian Way, again I can feel God renovating my heart, because it is all a matter of the heart. When God comes in and begins to renew and restore our hearts, it’s like a bit in the mouth of a horse, where you tug it that huge animal will go. When we live out the will of God and allow him to transform our hearts, where he leads us, we will follow. So I have figured out that I don’t have everything figured out, but I am trying to be more self-aware.

I leave you with an actual quote from the book that I have been chewing on for a while now.

“The Barbarian Way is not about violence fueled by vengeance and hatred. The Barbarian Way is about love expressed through sacrifice and servanthood”.

My hope is that this statement challenges you, just like it is challenging me!!