The Jesus Way and the world's way

On the final pages of The Jesus Way I found this quote from Peterson. He is writing about the uniqueness of following Jesus,

"It is like nothing else. There is nothing and no one comparable. Following Jesus gets us little or nothing of what we commonly think we need or want or hope for. Following Jesus accomplishes nothing on the world's agenda. Following Jesus takes us right out of this world's assumptions and goals to a place where a lever can be inserted that turns the world upside down and inside out. Following Jesus has everything to do with this world, but almost nothing in common with this world."

This connects with so many things I've been thinking about.

The life of the citizen of God's Kingdom, a follower of Jesus, is counter every culture of this world. However, Peterson's final sentence here won't allow us to escape from the world into some other-worldly kind of existence. Following Jesus is done in this world and engages with life as it is lived in this world (or as Qohelet would have it 'life under the sun'). But the values, the patterns, the means of this world are rejected by the follower of Jesus in favour of the values, patterns and means of Jesus. Living Kingdom lives now will turn the world upside down, for the blessing of all, Gen 12:3. Peterson's final sentences in this must read book,

"But in every generation a few do follow Jesus. They deny themselves, they take up their cross, and they follow him. They lose their lives and save them - and long with their own, the lives of many, many others."

24

While just about everyone else is watching season 7 via Sky, we don't have Sky, or cable, or channel 5! We've had to resort to rewatching season 5 on dvd.

Krish Kandiah has a really interesting post on 24, this link will take you there - Krish on 24.

We've watched all six seasons, and the film Redemption on dvd. I really like the concept of the show, the events happen in real time in and around LA, this generates its own tension and energy as the clock ticks round.

My favourite is still season 1, not wanting to spoil the plot if anyone hasn't seen it, but the tension is kept very high right up to the final minutes and through each episode Jack really struggles between getting the job done and doing the right thing.

From season 2 on Jack becomes much more focused on getting the job done, and in my opinion, some of the things he does to get the job done would have been better not done - even if that meant the operation failed.

There is a real issue about ways and means. This is the major theme of Eugene Petersons, The Jesus Way, another really excellent book from Peterson. Jesus is concerned about the way, what we do and how we do it matters just as much, if not more, than getting the job done. Indeed, sometimes the way we do things is the job that is to be done.

I'm sure when the dvd of season 7 of 24 comes around I'll watch it and get caught up in the action. But the ways and means adopted by Jack Bauer can't be the ways and means adopted in Christian discipleship.