Poo, Planes, and the Presence of Jesus
A funny, filthy, and freeing reminder that God isn’t afraid of our mess
Return
G’day Everyone!
Last week we spoke about seeing Jesus in His most distressing disguise. Did you find Him? I took my kids to find Jesus at a youth drop in centre. When we take Matthew 25 seriously, we will find Him everywhere we look!
In this weeks Equip section I share an aeroplane story where I sat next to a man actually named Jesus! It was an eventful flight that made me think about how the True Lord Jesus views our mess. It has huge implications for how we share the gospel…
Equip
Horror on a Aeroplane
Sarah, our son and I were on a long haul flight between Australia and Africa. We sat down in the middle aisle. Between the three of us there was a spare seat, and then a stranger. I quickly started talking to this young man and found out a bit about him.
He was from Brazil.
He was a male stripper.
And his name was Jesus.
As the flight progressed I had to do Daddy duties. I took my son to the toilets at the back of the plane and changed his nappy (or diaper for my North mercian friends). I got back to the seats and Sarah got up to go to the toilet herself. I let our son crawl across the seats up to Jesus and back.
I went to pick something up and I noticed I had some poo on my finger.
“Where did that come from?” I asked myself. Being a parent of a baby means finding poo, vomit, boogers, and food in strange places was nothing new.
But when I looked again I saw what only can be described as a horror scene. My son had what us parents call a “Nappy Explosion!”
In this case the nappy was not big enough or good enough to hold in all this poo. There was poo all over the seats!
I had no idea what to do so I quickly grabbed him and wrapped him in the closest blanket. I called for the hostess who came and gasped in shock,
“Arrgghh! Is he not wearing a nappy?”
“Yes of course he is!” I hollered back!
As she did her best not to gag, she quickly got some wipes and air freshener and threw them at me as she ran towards the back of the plane.
Sarah eventually got back and I handed our son over, thinking, “Where on earth have you been while I’m here in the middle of a war zone!”
By now the smell was circulating through the cabin. People were gagging behind us, and wondering what was going on.
I scrubbed the seats, sprayed the air freshener and prayed for time travel. I just wanted to get off this plane!
I quickly thought, “Oh no. What is Jesus going to think about this?” (Brazilian male stripper Jesus)
I looked across and there he was. He had pulled his hoody over his head and was rocking back and forward as though he was strapped into a stray jacket at a mental asylum.
We apologised to Jesus and knew that if he could have, he would have left us in a heartbeat.
The rest of the flight was fine. But once we landed, this whole situation made me think…
How does Jesus view my mess? Not Brazilian, male stripper, Jesus. But Jesus of Nazareth? How does Jesus, the one who was without sin, the one who is the image of the invisible God, the one who is one with the Father… How does He view our mess?
And not just my mess, but how does Jesus view the mess that others make, especially those who are not following Him yet?
Jesus and Mess
When we look at the life of Jesus we see that:
in His incarnation, He “moved into our neighbourhood.” Notice He didn’t wait for humanity to get it right. He loved us first and came to us, and died for us while we were still a mess. (John 1:14 MSG, 1 John 4:19, Romans 5:8)
In His very first message in Luke 4, He quotes Isaiah and says that He has come to fix all the mess in the world! (Good News for the poor, Freedom for prisoners and the oppressed, Sight for the blind…)
He chose followers who were messed up. (At times they were proud, arrogant, violent, not compassionate, greedy, racist and so forth)
He ate with the “messed up people” the religious leaders didn’t like so much that they gave Him the nickname “friend of sinners.” (Luke 7:34)
Jesus allowed dirty, and sinful people to touch Him, He engaged with them and He even celebrated them! For example: The sinful Woman and The Roman Centurion in Luke 7, The Canaanite Woman in Matthew 15:21–28; Mark 7:24–30, The Samaritan Leper (Luke 17:11–19), The Bleeding Woman (Mark 5:25–34; Luke 8:43–48), Tax Collectors, (Luke 19:1–10, Luke 18:9–14) and the Woman at the Well. (John 4:1–42)
He didn’t blame or shame people for their mess, but stood up for them, gave them hope, healed them and set them free! (John 9:1-5, John 8:1-11, Luke 7:36-50)
When we see Jesus act like this, we’re seeing how The Father acts. (John 14:9) Jesus is the exact representation of God, (Hebrews 1:3) He is the image of the invisible God! (Col 1:15) God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit are all on the same page!
Jesus clearly shows us that God is not afraid of our sin. God doesn’t curl up in a ball in disgust like Brazillian-Male-Stripper-Jesus. He doesn’t cover His face and hide from us. True Lord Jesus is not allergic to sin and sinners, rather He heads straight to us to help us clean it up!
Sin and Mess
Our evangelistic efforts will always reflect how we think Jesus views our mess and sinfulness. For example…
If I were to take you down to certain street corners all across the world we would see men and women standing on street corners calling for people to “REPENT!” If we found some particularly edgy people they may even have signs like, “Turn or Burn!”
They believe Jesus hates your mess, and wants you to meet certain conditions (say the sinners prayer) before He begins to help you. Sin is seen as the barrier to knowing and experiencing the goodness of God.
On the other hand, if I were to take you on any of the brothel outreaches like the ones my wife Sarah has been involved in all around the world, you would see that the first step in evangelism is not a big sign calling for repentance, but an act of compassion.
For example, in Melbourne they delivered trays of free cupcakes that says “You are loved!” In Mozambique they painted fingernails, and I know a ministry in Bangladesh that paid for cement floors in the brothels to try and keep people healthy and alive long enough that they could explore alternative options.
The idea behind these sorts of ministries that start with service, compassion, and listening, is that Jesus sees your mess and jumps in ready to help clean it up.
The Choice is Ours
“Brazillian Male-Stripper Jesus” was totally offended by the mess my son had made. He wanted separation and definitely did not want to be near us!
However, the picture we get of The True Lord Jesus, is that instead of moving away from us and our mess, He draws nearer! He wants to get close so He can help us get through our mess. Jesus is present with us in our mess.
When you are proclaiming the gospel, which Jesus are you describing? Brazillian Male-Stripper Jesus or True Lord Jesus?
True Lord Jesus loves us first.
True Lord Jesus is drawn to us.
True Lord Jesus runs towards us.
True Lord Jesus sits with us in our mess.
True Lord Jesus cleans up the mess.
And here’s why this is such a big deal… Jesus has commanded His followers to do the same. As He has loved us, we are to love others. (John 13:34)
So today I encourage you, when you see sinners and the mess of life they find themselves in, don’t curl up in a ball in disgust like Brazillian-Male-Stripper-Jesus… Lean over. Love them and offer to help them. That’s what True Lord Jesus does.
Activate
This week’s challenge is to “Read Luke 4:18-19 everyday.”
The passage lists some of the mess that Jesus has come to clean up. As you read it, pray that God would anoint you to declare and demonstrate the same good news to the poor, the prisoners, the blind and the oppressed.
Also, watch this 2 minute video testimony of the gospel in a brothel for some inspiration.
As always, let me know how you go!
Let’s Go!
James