In his book Unconditional?, Brian Zahnd
challenges believers with a “radical call of Jesus to forgiveness.” Using
stories, historical and theological insights, Zahnd, pastor of Word of Life
Church in St. Joseph, Mo., reminds us of the foundation of Christianity.
Although forgiveness is not an easy command to obey, as Christians, we have the
grace to do so—no matter what.
Featured in The Buzz is an
excerpt from Zahnd’s new insightful book. (Click here to purchase Unconditional?)
What does it mean to be a
disciple? If someone were a disciple of the sitar master Ravi Shankar, it would
be assumed that they hoped to learn to play the sitar with great skill. If
someone were a disciple of a kung fu master, it would be assumed that they hope
to eventually master the art of kung fu. So, if we call ourselves disciples of
Jesus, what is it we are trying to learn? What is it that Jesus offers to teach
us when we heed the call to follow Him?
What is Jesus the master of, which we seek to learn? The answer is
“Life.” Jesus is the master of living well, living rightly, living truly. Jesus
is the master of living a human life as God intended. And at the center of Jesus’ teaching on how we should live is the
recurring theme of love and forgiveness.
For those who are serious about
being a disciple of Jesus, serious about learning to live the way He taught,
the Sermon on the Mount is of supreme importance. This is where Jesus sets
forth His radical vision of how we should live. And make no mistake about it;
it is radical—so radical that for much of Christian history, the church has
occupied theologians in finding ways to get around it. Some theologians have
suggested that Jesus never actually expected us to live the Sermon on the
Mount; rather it was a disingenuous teaching to “drive us to grace.” As the
argument goes, in attempting to live the Sermon on the Mount we would find it
simply can’t be done, and then we would look to grace as an alternative to
obeying Christ. Not grace to live the Sermon on the Mount, but grace not to
live it. This interpretation is pretty
far-fetched, to say the least, but surprisingly common.