John 2:15,16 “Jesus made a whip out of cords, and drove all from the temple area… ‘Get these out of here! How dare you turn my Father’s house into a market!’”
Sometimes God wants us to get angry. Often the status quo needs challenging. How attractive is Jesus in his violent indignation over the misuse of his Father’s house! What does his example teach us for today? Dorothy Sayers wrote: “The people who hanged Christ never, to do them justice, accused Him of being a bore – on the contrary, they thought Him too dynamic to be safe. It has been left for later generations to muffle up that shattering personality and surround Him with an atmosphere of tedium. We have very efficiently pared the claws of the Lion of Judah, certified Him ‘meek and mild’, and recommended Him as a fitting household pet for pale curates and pious old ladies.”
In Rocky 3, Stallone’s character is going soft and losing his edge. The fire in his belly is disappearing as he enjoys the fame and adulation that have come his way. In one scene, his manager says to him: “The worst thing happened that could happen to any fighter – you got civilized.” Might Jesus say that to us today? Shane Claiborne challenges us: “We should be the most passionate people on the planet, enthused with passion. The word enthusiasm comes from two Greek words, ‘en’ and ‘Theos’, which together mean in God. The more we get into God, the more passionate we become.”
If we’ve become civilized, the first step is to recognize it. Then we can pray for that enthusiasm, that state of becoming more and more ‘in God’ i.e. passionate for his kingdom. And then we can offer up that energized passion to God and look around us to see where he wants to use us.
Lord, I don’t want to settle for civilized tedium. Stir up something in me today that simply has to burst out into concerted action for your glory. Amen!
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