“It’s Not What You Think”

I’m in the process of reading a book that’s really very good. In fact, I have one more chapter left to read, and I’ll be sad when I’m finished.

The book, by fellow SixSeeds/Patheos blogger Jefferson Bethke, is called “It’s Not What You Think: Why Christianity Is About So Much More Than Going to Heaven When You Die.”

There are many challenging parts of the book, but I wanted to give sneak peak of the part that resonated with me today. In this paragraph, Bethke is talking about the Michael Brown event in Ferguson and Eric Garner event in New York and how people tend to take sides and make no effort to understand, and simply put more value in who they deem to be right:

“The worst part is when people completely belittle or make zero effort to understand the angst and hurt and pain coming from my black brothers and sisters right now. We need to understand that it’s a nonnegotiable for us to absorb other people’s pain- especially if we are followers of Jesus. Part of the job of being a Jesus follower is making other people’s pain our pain. To feel it. To absorb it. To step in that gap as much as possible, because that’s exactly what Jesus did for us.”

I’ll be honest, when it comes to the riots in Ferguson, I didn’t understand what was going on there at all. As I reflect on that time, I realize I should’ve tried to understand where their hurt, anger, and frustration were coming from and I should have empathized more with their plight.

You might already know Bethke as the author of New York Times bestseller Jesus > Religion…  or because he’s been known to Tweet a bit about The Bachelor.  Either way, I think you’ll find his new book to be as enjoyable as I have.

Pre-order it here.

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