Thursday, May 3, 2018
Me and Jesus
Luke 10:1
After these things the Lord appointed seventy others also, and sent them two by two before His face into every city and place where He Himself was about to go.
There is an old song titled “Me and Jesus” which, thankfully, is no longer sung anywhere I worship. However, I discovered during my research yesterday that several individuals and bands have recorded the song over the years, including the Christian band Stellar Kart, on their album We Can’t Stand Sitting Down. They released it as a single in July 2006.
And, to my surprise, the song spent seven weeks as a number-one single and was the eleventh-most-played song of 2006 on Christian radio. In 2007, the song won the GMA Dove Award for Rock/Contemporary Recorded Song of the Year, at the 38th GMA Dove Awards. It was also nominated for Song of the Year.
Originally, “Me and Jesus,” was a No. 98 hit for legendary country singer-songwriter Tom T. Hall on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1972. And since that 2006 feat, “Me and Jesus” became one of the breakout hits from season 11 of The Voice. The song was sung by Sundance Head and received a standing ovation from the show’s four coaches.
In recent years the song has been covered many times, most notably by Country Music Superstar Brad Paisley. Paisley included a modernised and slowed-down acoustic version of the song as a bonus track on his 2014 album Moonshine in the Trunk.
But I am assuming that by now you must be wondering why I am going on about this song which many readers might not have heard. Here are the words on the refrain. “Well, me and Jesus we got our own things going / Me and Jesus, we got it all worked out / Me and Jesus, we got our own things going / We don’t need anybody to tell us what it’s all about”
This song is a full-throated anthem celebrating an individualistic Christianity that shuts down the intervention of others. Those others could be pastors, teachers, prophets, or just a sister in the Lord. That seems to be far removed from what is encouraged in the New Testament. That approach to faith seems to reek of what some scholars refer to as “radical individualism”
Individualism is an approach to life that makes the individual the central focus of all attention. It involves efforts at asserting the rights of the individual over and above those of the group and encourages self-realization at all costs. Persons who subscribe to individualism resist any external interference or intervention in one’s interest or life.
As you would figure out, individualism would lead to anarchy and chaos. Society would break down, community life would be impossible, and countries would not exist if individualism were allowed to flourish. The English poet John Donne wrote in the 1700s that “no man is an island entirely of itself” and that popular phrase dooms the idea of individualism.
Nevertheless, a form of individualism has been creeping into Christian faith in ways that are more and more troubling every day. This approach starts with the interpretation of scripture. Ask what a passage or verse means, and the response is often – what this scripture means to me is … On the face of it, there is nothing wrong with this, scripture must touch and affect the individual, but we get to a place where the individual interprets for themselves and ignores the counsel of others.
The Apostle Peter wrote that we “knowing this first, that no prophecy of Scripture is of any private interpretation,” 2 Peter 1:20, should depend on the witness and confirmation of others. Peter was at the time making the point that the scriptures really were not the bright ideas or experiences of individuals acting on their own, “for prophecy never came by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit.” 2 Peter 1:21. Peter prefaced this stating that “the prophetic word [was] confirmed,” 2 Peter 1:19.
The individualism in Christian faith stretches from a personal-only interpretation of scripture into a way of life that cuts many Christians off from real engagement with the community of faith, and little engagement at all with the community outside of faith.
This may sound extreme but let me share a recent experience. As Easter approached I attempted to share invitations to our special Good Friday Rally with members so that they could invite persons to the service. Our Good Friday rally is a cool service. Set for evening time on the holiday that we have in Guyana people come dressed down in a jeans and t-shirt environment. Perfect for getting the non-churched into the church. Of the 50 plus persons in the room, only about 5 persons wanted invitations to give to any relative, friend, co-worker, or neighbour to invite them to the event. Most of the same 50 persons came back on Good Friday evening, dressed for the occasion, all by themselves.
Once we give an offering, get a word, say a prayer, get a blessing we care very little for others. There is no passion to see others saved by grace through faith in Jesus. There is no desire to share the word and encourage young Christians to grow. One recent convert told me “you all need to change up the system to help out the young struggling Christians.”
Me and Jesus don’t have any private thing going on, Jesus is working on me so that through me he could work on others. Jesus expects me to be a witness to non-believers and to have fellowship with believers. On the one hand, it is to share the gospel and on the other to enrich each other with the scriptures. We are to be in relationship with Him and the share with others.
Think on these things:
- When last did you personally share the Gospel with someone?
- How often do you discuss faith and the word with other believers?
- How important are relationships to your faith?
Prayer focus:
Let us pray today that we would experience Jesus in a real way and share that experience with others..
In His Grace
Pastor Alex
