Truth, freedom, dancing inside

William P. Young is not only the author of The Shack, but he also shares some creative, inspiring content on his blog. Recently he posted a fictional account of an uptight Jewish disciple and a curious Samaritan “whose breath radiates goat and garlic.” This odd couple get into an interesting discussion of parables, truth, and freedom that transforms both men by the end of their conversation. Here’s a little sample—I hope you’ll visit Wind Rumors for the entire story—where the impatient follower of Jesus discovers the reason he has been approached by this bizarre stranger.

“The good Samaritan, you know, that guy that Jesus just told us about. I want to know who he is. I would like to meet him.

“Now I am wide awake. I grin at this man thinking that he is joking, but the intensity of his face communicates that he is dead serious. “You want me to tell you who the good Samaritan is, like…his name?”

“Exactly! I want to go and talk to him. I would like to understand what I can about his journey, anything really that might give me insight into how he got to the place where he could exhibit the kindness and compassion of God like he did.

“We sat there for a frozen moment, he looking expectantly at me and me trying to find the right words to let the boy down gently. What I really want to do is laugh and not too quietly either.

Paul Young understands the tensions—and the cultural distance—between those of us who follow Jesus and those who find themselves on the outside looking in, some with great longing to understand. The music of God’s grace continues to draw people toward the kingdom, welcoming them to join in the dance of truth and freedom in Christ; and yet we sometimes act so surprised when we look around and discover that not everyone looks like us. Or smells like we do. Or votes our party. Or follows the same view of the Christian life. Or wants to attend our church. Or homeschools their children. Or thinks green. Or embraces our catchy slogans and waves our banners. Or believes that God is a Republican.

I’m praying for more grace and generosity and understanding for this new year. I’m tired of being the uptight, right-wing, ultra-conservative, obsessive fill-in-the-blank perfectionist. I don’t have plans to become a liberal, tree-hugging, egalitarian activist, although you might think I’m moving in that direction because I have a lot of honest questions that few people are willing to talk about (except for the stereotypical emerging/emergent types who scare the hell out of most evangelicals, whatever “evangelical” means these days).

The music of God’s grace is compelling. I want to dance, even though Baptists aren’t supposed to do that.