There is much in the Bible I don’t like. I don’t like the commandments that I have particular difficulty keeping. I am uncomfortable with those stories in which God harshly disciplines his wayward people, especially when I am feeling wayward. I am not particularly pleased with God’s demands that I worship him every Sunday, especially when I am on vacation in a strange community not knowing the location of the nearest church. I would not like to think that tithing is the generosity encouraged by Scripture and would rather only throw a five dollar or a ten dollar bill in the collection plate each week and spend the rest on myself.

Likewise I am uncomfortable when Jesus tells me in Matthew 10:34-39 that truth is more important than temporary harmony in the family or in the church. He says, "Do not think that I have come to bring peace on earth; ... I have come to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law." He continues, "He who loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me." Whether or not this passage is to be taken literally is not the question. Rather, it states that following Christ means standing up for what is right, being principled rather than practical, serving the truth rather than the expedient even when it produces disharmony in the community, in the church, and within our family.

Biblical Christianity, as opposed to many popular notions of Christianity, is a venture for the strong and mature. It is forever impatient with the old, stubborn, bloodstained ways of the world. When we are in touch with God’s Word and the demands it produces in our lives, conflict and pain often enter as we speak out against injustice. It is true that the gospel of God’s love through Jesus Christ brings peace to troubled lives, but Jesus warns us that it is not to be peace by compromise or evasion.

Many of us enjoy wearing a finely fashioned silver or gold cross around our necks. Jesus says that, "He who does not take up his cross and follow me is not worthy of me." Jesus calls us to bear a cross, not simply wear one. Our life needs to be one of involvement, one that sometimes produces tension for the sake of Christ.

We read Scripture and discover a Christ who conducted a ministry that produced much conflict. Jesus of Nazareth would have been excluded from most Call lists of churches who are seeking pastors. He would have been termed a trouble-maker, a boat-rocker. We celebrate our heritage as Christians when we stand up against the forces of darkness that compromise the Word of God, dehumanize people, and encourage us to do the smart thing rather than the right thing.

Jesus was a lousy politician and they crucified him. God does not call any one of us to be popular, but he calls all of us to be righteous. Our lives might well be the most scandalous when they are the most faithful.