Ever seen one of those apocalyptic, “after-the-nuclear-holocaust” sci-fi movies that shows disoriented, zombie-like people aimlessly wandering through devastated streets, looking for someone or something familiar?
I feel like I lived that scene during a recent trip to Wal-Mart as stunned shoppers discovered that the store was being renovated and rearranged. Can you say, “chaos”?
Every shopper in that store looked befuddled, as we all searched for someone wearing a blue vest who might be able to point us to the cream of mushroom soup, or the Kool-Aid, or the Rice Krispies, or in my case, a jar of capers (which would be tough to find on a GOOD day at Wal-Mart).
Total strangers were saying things to me like, “Can you believe they did this to us?” We felt surprised, betrayed, abandoned, and lost.
I observed one of the “blue vests” roaming the aisles uttering this mantra to any shopper within earshot: “It’s going to be better … I promise this is good. It’s going to be better … I promise this is good.” She seemed a little less than fully convinced herself.
A few days later, I went grocery shopping at another store. (Do you get the feeling that I spend half my life buying food?) Get this – the same thing happened, only on a slightly smaller scale. The wreakers of havoc had been busy there, too, reconfiguring most of the store. Even the checkout lady was distraught because she now had to scan items with her “other arm.”
What’s up with this? Has the whole world gone nuts? Change can be good, but c’mon people, work with me here. Small doses, please. Baby steps. Not entire stores, and not all my stores at the same time. I need a little order in my court.
Believe it or not, this helps me better understand how difficult it was for some folks to handle Jesus when He appeared on earth wearing human skin. And why so many still have trouble with Him today.
The religious people in Jesus’ day had a good thing going. Christ came along and turned their system upside down. Lots of them didn’t like it, so they crucified Him.
The disciples of Jesus had a good thing going. Jesus was “their guy” and it made them feel important to ride the wave of His amazing ministry … until their hopes and ambitions were temporarily nailed to that cross alongside their Messiah. This was not the way they had scripted it, and it was painful, indeed, to replace their dreams with His.
It seemed I had a good thing going. I was chugging through college on the achievement train — tennis player, sorority member, honor student – but I felt more than a little empty on the inside. Then a friend challenged me to get to know the real Jesus. Not the false, irrelevant, boring, “religious” Jesus I’d already written off, but the real deal.
He turned my world upside down.
As a matter of fact, Jesus always turns things upside down — challenging our priorities, commitments, habits, relationships, lifestyles, and traditions.
The Pharisees couldn’t handle it. They still can’t. But those who truly seek Truth embrace the change Jesus brings.
I didn’t give the folks at Wal-Mart permission to change my world, but I did give Jesus the green light to renovate anything He wants to. And I know when He says, “It’s going to be better … I promise this is good,” I can absolutely believe it.