I had lunch with an old friend yesterday and he shared some things with me that he has been thinking about. Of everything that we talked about the thing that as stuck with me was this question; “how can I follow a man that didn’t live the American dream?” I think this is a question worth exploring.

Think about it, Jesus didn’t live in the 21st century in the Midwest, He lived in the 1st century in the Middle East. His life was not fast paced like ours.

There was always more than enough time to sit down and have a long talk with a friend. My version of a long talk with a friend usually consists of a fifteen minute conversation over the cell phone on my way to work.

Jesus never worried about saving for retirement, instead any money given to Him went to serve His immediate needs (like food) and the rest went to ministry. How often I find myself worrying about saving, or even about buying myself or my family things that we want but don’t necessarily need.

Jesus never had to get a mortgage, or car loan, or finance some new fangled furniture from Rooms to Go. He simply trusted God to provide what He needed and went about His ministry. I’m thinking my life would definitely be better if credit had never been invented.

It seems to me that Jesus lived in a time when things were simpler. That is not to say that the lives of the people in the first century were easy or that Jesus’ life was easy; but, their lives were less complex. In 21st century America we have to worry about locking our doors, securing our borders, keeping our jobs, saving our money, maintaining our cars, building our credit, heating and cooling our homes, etc. These are things that Jesus would not have dealt with.

I’m pointing this out to raise this question: how can someone living in the fast paced, complex lifestyle of 21st century America identify with and follow a man (Jesus) that lived in the 1st century Middle East?

I think the answer to the question must be multifaceted, and must hinge on the pursuit of simplicity. This is one of the things that Jesus was pointing out when he told the rich young ruler to sell all he had and give it to the poor (Matthew 19:21). And, maybe this is why the early Church sold their possessions and gave to the poor (Acts 2:42-47).

I don’t have the answers, and maybe that’s a good thing. Like my friend pointed out yesterday; maybe we aren’t meant to live in the comfort of the answer, but in the uneasiness of the question.

Maybe life is like Morpheus (in the Matrix) said, “It’s the question that drives us.”

Right now, this question is driving me…