Monday, September 08, 2008

Born Again vs Giving to the Poor

I'm reading Shane Clairborne's The Irresistible Revolution, which is challenging me on several levels. His advocacy for the least among us is very compelling, and calls into question whether my comfortable middle-class lifestyle of consumption is really compatible with being a follower of Jesus.

I loved this quote about Rich Mullins, a singer-songwriter:

"I will never forget one of the chapel services where Rich spoke while I was at Wheaton...Rick stood up in chapel and said, 'You guys are all into that born again thing, which is great. We do need to be born again, since Jesus said that to a guy named Nicodemus. But if you tell me I have to be born again to enter the kingdom of God, I can tell you that you have to sell everything you have and give it to the poor, because Jesus said that to one guy too...[And he paused in awkward silence.] But I guess that's why God invented highlighters, so we can highlight the parts we like and ignore the rest.'"


Note that I'm not quoting this because I am anti-hypocrite. I am quoting it because I am pro-highlighter.

2 comments:

Amy Yoder McGloughlin said...

I just love this quote! Thanks for sharing.

Unknown said...

I laughed out loud at your "pro-highlighter" stance. :)