Nooma 015 | You

Nooma 015|You
"Some of the central claims of the Christian faith are the source of many discussions and heated debates. But are we always debating the right things? Maybe some of our discussions would change significantly if we had more insight into the actual circumstances that surrounded the first people of the Christian movement -- if we had a better understanding of the things they did in the context of the world they lived in. Maybe some of the claims of the Christian faith that we typically perceive to be unique aren't really that special at all. And at the same time maybe we don't always put enough emphasis on the things that truly should matter in our lives." NOOMAtube

The early Christians almost had more of an uphill battle to face than we do today in spreading the gospel. Sure it's hard for us to fight mainstream society and the influence that the entertainment world has on lost souls, but at least we have an infrastructure to work from. Early Christians had nothing but faith to go off. They began the daunting task of building an infrastructure from scratch and used models of Roman rule to do so. At this time the developed world was ruled by Romans and Caesar was their leader. When the Romans would conquer a city they would force the inhabitants of the land to proclaim that "Caesar is lord." Once this was done the Romans would build a building that would become a worshipping center to Caesar. These structures were called "ekklesias," which in English is church. These first Christians took this term and used it to describe their gatherings, where they confessed that Jesus is Lord.

At these gatherings they preached the love and compassion of Christ. They preached the our world was fallen and in pieces. "These first Christians believed that Jesus' Resurrection had implication for the entire universe...They saw in Jesus' resurrection the beginning of this universe-wide movement to put it all back together" (Rob Bell). They opposed Caesar's tactics of using political and war power to force people to believe certain ideals. "For them, this gospel was about serving the world, especially those on the underside of the Empire. For them it was about serving, not ruling" (Rob Bell). These are the types of people that don't have to go about proclaiming and preaching the name of the Lord for they have that special "glow" about them that draws you to them. That "glow" is Jesus' love flowing out of them, and it's attractive to all. We want to be around these people because being around people like this gives us a glimpse as to what it would have been like to be around Jesus.

Easier said than done right? The truth is that "we all fall short and that's the beautiful part. Broken, flawed, vulnerable people like you and me, are invited to be the hands and feet of Jesus who loves us exactly as we are and yet, loves us way too much to let us stay that way" (Rob Bell). If people were to base their decision to believe off of you and the life that you live, what would they decide? Would your actions and your words give them the confidence to believe that Jesus has risen from the dead? "May you be a 'yes' to the questions, 'Has Jesus risen from the dead?' And may you come to see - may you understand that you are the good news. You are the gospel." Rob Bell