whatever-fill-in-the-blank?? How would you like to be called mad instead? Mad, according to the online definition, means mentally ill or disturbed, deranged, insane, demented, disordered. Certainly not complimentary at all. A king once called Apostle Paul "insane" for talking about a certain dead man walking. (Acts 26:24-25) The Greek word used in the Bible means to be mad, to rave, as in the case of one who so speaks that he appears to be out of his mind, literally translated as to be beside oneself. To which Paul calmly replied, "I am not insane, most excellent (King) Festus...What I am saying is true and reasonable".
The other day, someone implied that I am mad, for the same reason Paul was called mad, that I always talk about a certain dead man walking. She said she hated that church had turned me 'nuts' about religion, her objection seemed to be that I could believe in a God so cruel that He would send people to hell for not believing that dead man, or something to that effect. I was very offended at first. In the first place it wasn't church which had turned me 'nuts'. I made a personal, informed, deliberate and purposeful decision to believe in the existence of God, in particular I chose to believe Jesus Christ as my Lord and my God. It wasn't as if I had no doubts or questions about a lot of things about Christianity, neither was my decision based on an 'emo' ting, although my emotions are definitely involved. But it certainly wasn't 'religion','church' or 'people' who "brain-washed" me. It wasn't even force of circumstance in facing the death of my husband, though that event was certainly the catalyst, so to speak, that sparked off my spiritual journey which began 12 years ago. This has turned out to be a journey that continues everyday that I live on this earth. One that has taken me to mountain-top 'highs' and deep valley 'lows', that has enriched my days with joy unspeakable amidst the uncertainties of life in a messed-up world, bearing the hurt of broken dreams and the pain of unspoken sorrows. I am just someone very ordinary and I dare say, normal. After all I have good and bad hair days, like everyone else. I laugh, cry. I get angry, I fail, I say things I regret. Some things I get all wrong. But some things I get right too.
And the one thing that I am glad I got right is my relationship with God. So does choosing willingly to submit to One I recognize and acknowledge as the Creator, Sustainer and Preserver of my life make me mad? Does a passion to talk of and share the good news about Jesus Christ, whom I believe (after all due consideration) died and rose again, make me mad? Is it mad to spend my days loving God with all my heart, mind, soul and strength and trying to love others as He commanded me to? People have believed and done madder things surely.
Mad is for people who blindly follow without question, like the members of the Jim Jones cult, who committed mass suicide believing he was the messiah who would lead them to some utopia land of bliss. Mad is when you think it's ok to drop bombs on people in the belief that that will buy you a ticket straight away to paradise. Mad is for those whose minds become so indoctrinated that they turn into puppets or robots without personal dignity, without the privilege or even desire to think and ask questions. Undoubtedly, I am enthusiastic and zealous about my faith, but that doesn't mean I have lost my ability and capacity to think. I still retain my will to say yes or no to God. The fact that I can still disobey Him shows very clearly I have not 'lost' my mind and have complete freedom to decide if I really want to trust Him with my life. Deciding to go against the grain of the world, refusing to let it squeeze me into its own mold of conformity, choosing to believe (tho I may not understand and can't prove) there are things which go far beyond the realm of our 5 human senses, preferring to think I am not just a measurable mass of body tissue, cells and bones that will return to dust and ashes upon physical death, expecting that there is a heaven and a hell - do these make me mad?
If yes, then I dare say probably half the world's entire population is mad as well, since all religions believe in the concept of retribution, which is what heaven and hell is basically all about. Come on, even the irreligious can mouth platitudes such as 'what goes around comes around' - now where did that concept come from?? Science itself postulates about the law of effect and consequence. The Bible puts it simply, "Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows." (Galatians 6:7) If we can shout so much about justice, we should believe in the absolute necessity of heaven and hell. There would be no justice if evil, unfairness, wickedness, oppression and rebellion were to triumph at the end of the day - our conscience tells us that is simply not right; it shouldn't be that way. For whilst it is a fact that people can and do get away with all sorts of things in this world, we all want to see wrongs righted - ultimately. If there is to be true justice, there has to be divine retribution, something beyond the fallible whims and fancies of human caprice. If this world cannot provide it, there has to be another world, another Judge who can. And if justice is to be equal for all, both the serial murderer and the one who sins 'quietly' in his heart must suffer the consequence. No exception, like Jesus said, "But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart" (Matthew 5:28) Before God, all of us stand equal - guilty. It's not belief or non-belief in Jesus Christ that sends us to hell; rather it's our own sin, which none can deny, that condemns each and every human being.
Which is why the gospel of Jesus Christ is such good news for those who would acknowledge we are all but sinners in a fallen world; for He is the only hope of mankind's redemption, because He alone paid the price on the cross of Calvary. Last weekend, at the street-alley, I bumped into an old fren, who had re-appeared after about 2 years' absence. He told me he was still reading the Bible I had given him, he attended church now and then, though he was a bit confused about certain traditions and practices. I asked him why is it he chose to believe what I had shared to him then about Jesus Christ? He was silent for a moment, then in his shy gentle manner, he smiled at me and said, "Because He died and rose again for me". Man, my heart soared. Whatever else he didn't understand, he understood and chose to believe the very basic foundation of the Christian faith - that Jesus died and rose again, personally for him. But he continued, "I have a fren who also read the Bible, but he doesn't believe it; he keeps telling me it's all wrong. Maybe he thinks I am crazy". It's no surprise anyway - many people read the Bible just to poke fun at and/or puncture holes in it. I wanted to tell my fren, it's ok, that would make 2 of us same-same crazy - we are in excellent company, with Apostle Paul.
As I pondered this, I realized I shouldn't take offense at all, if for believing that to be truth, people should classify me as mad. Quite to the contrary, I should take it as the highest compliment I can ever receive in this life-time. So in fact I should thank the person who implied I am mad about Jesus. Why shouldn't I be mad about a God who loves me so much, who has nothing but the best plans for my life, who takes me through all my days, over all my ways, right even through the valley of the shadow of death into life forevermore? That's surely something right and good to be mad about!
Thousands of years ago, King David was despised by his wife for leaping and dancing in the streets as he brought the Holy Ark of God back to Jerusalem. When she scorned him, he said to her, "I will become even more undignified than this, and I will be humiliated in my own eyes..., but I will celebrate before the Lord.." (2 Samuel 6:20-22) So far, my dancing for Jesus has been confined to church. Should there come a day when I can't contain my joy and it spills out into the streets, and people start calling me mad, I would dance even harder, sing even louder, share even more, because I am not ashamed of declaring I believe Jesus Christ who died as a man, but rose again; I worship a God who is fully, fantastically and forever alive. So I am mad, so be it. I'd rather take my chances of being mad and right than sane and wrong. Hmm, I wonder, if/when ultimately it turns out what I believe all along is true, who will be calling who mad??
"Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of Me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven.." Matthew 5:10-12
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