I’m reading a great book by Mark Yaconelli called Contemplative Youth Ministry: Practicing the Presence of Jesus. As I was reading yesterday, this paragraph hit me hard:
Jesus is generous, patient, kind, welcoming, courageous, truthful, and compassionate. Jesus is available to people. He is attentive to God and to others in the present moment. He receives people. He has patient eyes that see people in their beauty as well as their pain. Jesus trusts people. He trusts our capacities to bear love. He trusts us with the good news. He trusts us with life. He trusts that we know more of God than we realize. He says, “I no longer call you servants, I call you friends.” He doesn’t say, “Let me explain.” He says, “Remember.” He says, “those with ears to hear…” He says, “A sower went out to sow…” He says, “Listen.”
Sometime last week, I was talking to a friend of mine about trust. We had a conversation about how trust is a decision you make time and time again, knowing full well the risk you’re taking. We can’t really ever prove ourselves trustworthy. As I read this paragraph, that conversation came to mind. Jesus gives us the benefit of the doubt! No matter what we’ve done in our past to prove us untrustworthy, Jesus trusts us. Although we’re not human and can never be completely like Jesus, when Jesus calls us to follow him, he also calls us to give people the benefit of the doubt.
If we truly followed Jesus, what would this world look like?
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