2018 JESUS
POST TRIP
Written by Mike Rhoades
Recently, I met a man, or at least I
think I did. I was in the middle of a
run when, out of nowhere, the skies
opened up and rain came down like
sheets of water. I quickly ducked
under the overhang of the closest
building I could nd. In a matter of
seconds, I had become soaked to
the bone. It looked as if I’d randomly
jumped into a swimming pool with all
my clothes on.
As I gathered myself, checking my
running watch to make sure it still
worked, a man started laughing at
me. A bit taken aback, I looked up and
saw a middle-aged man eating a piece
of pizza and sitting next to a baby
stroller lled with bags. We shared a
few quips about the rain, wondering
when it would let up. He was looking
for a dry place to get inside and I was
wondering how to make the two-mile
trip back to my hotel without being
washed down a ood drain.
For another 20 minutes we casually
talked about the weather, politics,
running, and about our plans for the
week. It wasn’t until I darted back out
into the now drizzle-lled night air
that it dawned on me that this man
was most likely homeless. As I jogged
along, my thoughts drifted to how
mundane, but utterly extraordinary
the conversation had been. There
was nothing about his appearance
that would give me pause. It was only
after putting together the clues in our
conversation that it became clear that
he was homeless. I remember thinking
how easily I missed his situation.
Back in my hotel room and nally
dry, I sat at the desk with a pen and
my trusty leather-bound journal. I
journaled my prayers for almost an
hour. In that seemingly meaningless
moment, God reminded me of how
extraordinarily simple living a life of
mission can be. As I sat there writing,
a thought came buzzing through
my brain like a gnat: “I should have
taken a picture with that man. I could
have encouraged people to pray for
him.” It was my social media imagecrazed
brain telling me, “If you don’t
document it, it doesn’t exist.”
I share that story because God taught
(or more accurately, retaught) me
something. Living a life on a mission
is about faith in the moment. What
does Jesus look like in 2018? This is a
time of shifting cultural experience, a
time when our digital persona tends
to shape our everyday life. If you don’t
post, share, or hashtag the moments
of your life, then it doesn’t seem like it
was real. We’re so busy documenting
our lives that living in the moment,
has become almost impossible. It’s like
bringing a chainsaw to a pottery class;
wrong tool, wrong moment, and WAY
too loud.
So the question becomes, what does
the 2018 Jesus look like? Does the
lifestyle of Jesus translate to 2018? I
think 2018 Jesus looks a lot like Biblical
Jesus. A person who is lled with
compassion, willing to put himself
out for others, and never missing a
moment to stop what he’s doing to
simply spend time with someone.
Being Jesus to our community has
little to do with grand gestures and
much more to do with consistent,
diligent faith to act justly in the
moment. My friends, as you go back
to your communities, I want to
encourage you to live in the moment.
The single greatest step of faith
you can make will be to consciously
embody the life of Jesus in the
everyday moments you share with the
people around you.
Here are a few stories from the Bible
to get you started:
John 4:1-45
Luke 10:25-37
Mark :33-37
Luke 20:38-42
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