What do you believe about Jesus?

Even writing these words sounds like an invitation to a theological conference. But rather than asking what theories or ideas I might hold, the question bouncing around in my head is “in what ways does my life reflect my commitment to follow Jesus?”

 

What are the things that I do and say;

the attitudes and practices I hold;

the time commitments that I keep;

that are all because of my faith in Jesus?

 

I am genuinely terrified and energised at the same time by this question. So much of my life can seem routine and domestic. But how do you answer this question? How do I interrogate my own faith? Or perhaps, how do I develop close relationships with people I trust to interrogate me and my faith lovingly?

 

John Wesley (the founder of Methodism) used to keep a log book tracking his day – recording prayers said or sins committed. That seems pretty over the top to me, but I admire his passion.

You’ve heard me speak a lot recently about praying (the Lord’s prayer, silent prayer, praying the psalms) and fasting (from food, from social media). But what about feasting? Jesus spends a lot of time eating with big groups of people. And while his close friends do feature in those feasts quite often, the notable or defining feature of those feasts is usually the disreputable and surprising people who are there! Jesus is known as someone who shares a table (and therefore friendship) with the outsiders.

 

Who do you eat with?

Who do I eat with?

 

So this month, whenever I’m asking myself “what do I believe?”, I going to stop and check, “who have I been eating with?”  The table we share is probably a good starting point to wonder if I’m trying to be more like Jesus.

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