She Who Jesus Adores
Recently, my beloved wife Mrs. Zeke started a blog and has been attracting her own following. She mentioned recently in passing that at one stage of her life she worked in a strip joint, which prompted the a flurry of "REALLY??" emails to her. This was long before the two of us met, and the fact is that when she was stripping on one side of the country, I was going to strip joints on the other. Which is worse, really? But the irrelevancy of when she did it, why she did it, for how long she did it, how much she did or didn't enjoy it, blah blah blah, got me thinking about one of the things that makes what Jesus did on the cross so utterly unique: the ability to renew. Jesus clears the boards of our lives. If Jesus were Equifax, clearing our credit report would be a breeze. Those dings just wouldn't matter anymore.And the fact is that there are a great many sins that are certainly much more serious and destructive than stripping. Such as being an abusive parent--or even just an unloving one. Someday God will make it clear to us just how much the world suffered for our lack of daily love. But let a woman take her top off and dance for a few minutes, and the puritanical streak in our evangifundie subculture goes five-alarm. WTF is up with that? We care more about bare titties than starvation in this messed-up religion that we've created. We would rather wage kulturkampf than ease the suffering of those who Jesus repeatedly called us to care for. We would rather throw chains around people and play the blame-and-shame game than set people free as in "free indeed."
Before she revealed this small aspect of her past, my wife worried not about herself but about what people would think of me, especially in our own church. Fact is, I am proud of my wife not despite what she's done but because of who she is. Jesus got straight down into her heart, broke it for good, and regenerated it into one that is filled with compassion for other people just like Christians are supposed to have. So if some glad-handing, small-minded, tittie-obsessed, near-sighted judgmental weenie wants to think less of me or of my wife because of her past... whatevah. I'll try to be gracious, and probably fail, and then try again.
posted by Zeke @ 6:32 AM
5 Comments:
Some people don't even have to say it ... "I am glad that I am not as other men."
It literally seeps from every pore in their body.
Oh your reminded me, I found a site about C.S. Lewis that has his writings, I love about anyone who really shares there thoughts regardless of belief so Lewis is a given for me.
Anyway here http://yourdailycslewis.blogspot.com/
way back on the first page ever is an excerpt from Letters to an American Lady.
"We were talking about cats and dogs the other day and decided that both have consciences but the dog, being an honest, humble person, always has a bad one, but the cat is a Pharisee and always has a good one. When he sits and stares you out of countenance he is thanking God that he is not as these dogs, or these humans, or even as these other cats!"
Sums it up.
And I am forever happy while Zeke may have been going to strip clubs I was not in those he went to.
Love now tomorrow is not promised ot anyone
God help us. If we who ostensibly aspire to follow Jesus choose to attenuate our celebration of his acts of redemption in one another’s lives, there is something very, very wrong with this picture. Real-life, dazzling, life-imbuing, wonder-inspiring REDEMPTION in persons (and the marriages and families they create) should make our spirits roar with joy. Bravo to you, Mr. & Mrs. Z – some of us are roaring…
I think I just saw a dog with a conscience! :)
Can't remember what I was going to say, now! LMAO...
Um... Grace. Yay!
Glad grace is not removed so it could be measured! The cats would take over!
:)
That's what you were gonna say I think :P
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