Relaxed

One of the things we talked about on Sunday was Dallas Willard’s response to the question, “What one word would you use to describe Jesus?” He said, “Relaxed.”

Wow, that surprised a lot of us. But it has the ring of truth, doesn’t it? Even though Jesus clearly named the oppression of the Roman Empire and the ways that religious leaders had missed the point of the spiritual life, he still seemed unflappable. He was interruptible. He was not reactive. He had friends but could spend time alone. He was, in a word, relaxed.

It seems that a big part of how Jesus managed to walk through this world with so little fluster or bluster is that he was so deeply grounded in love. Multiple times he said, “I am in my Father and my Father is in me.” (John 14:11). He knew his own connection to his Father and his own belovedness.

Take a moment and reflect on how that might change how you move through the world. Here’s a thoughtful insight from Henri Nouwen about that - let it guide your prayers.

Ministry is the least important thing. You cannot not minister if you are in communion with God and live in community. A lot of people are always concerned about: "How can I help people? Or help the youth come to Christ? Or preach well?" But these are all basically non-issues. If you are burning with the love of Jesus, don't worry; everyone will know. They will say, "I want to get so close to this person who is so full of God. -Henri Nouwen