Awkward Jesus.

If I only ever did what was comfortable in my life, I'd never get past getting out of bed.  I like my bed.  It's extremely comfortable.  I rarely want to leave my cozy fluffy blanket and hunky husband in the morning, as much as I prefer mornings over evenings.

But I follow a Jesus who stood in the front lines of doing pretty uncomfortable things.  He invited not so special people to follow him that everyone else would have overlooked.  He shared meals with the unpopular, uncool, low-class people of his time.  He touched the untouchables.  He told people what to do, even though they hadn't met or interacted with each other before.  He broke the common cultural rules.  I mean, he even claimed to be the Messiah whom the Israelites have been waiting for for thousands of years?!

Talk about awkward.  I'm squirming in my seat just thinking about doing equivalent things today.

But if I claim to follow Jesus, then my actions need to reflect that belief.  That means talking to new people who don't know Jesus when I don't feel like it.  That means listening well and not getting defensive when students unhelpfully criticize our ministry.  That means confronting conflict, not avoiding it.  That means showing up on campus when I don't want to go.  That means being open and honest with students about how I'm doing and what I'm feeling when it would be easy to fake it.

Pray that RIT students and I wouldn't get stuck in the comfortable.