Can Jesus get a rise out of us?

I knew we had gone to Disneyland too many times when our kids started complaining about having to go on this ride or eat in that restaurant. They had become jaded, even to the Happiest Place on Earth. Susan and I have become like the kids in the family -- we are the ones most likely to get geeked about Disneyland.

Being jaded about Disneyland is inconsequential. Being jaded about spiritual things is life-threatening. Jadedness frustrated Jesus. Thanks to www.pray-as-you-go.org, this afternoon I meditated on Luke 7:31-35.
31 Jesus went on to say, “To what, then, can I compare the people of this generation? What are they like? 32 They are like children sitting in the marketplace and calling out to each other:
“‘We played the pipe for you,
and you did not dance;
we sang a dirge,
and you did not cry.’
Get the picture? A group of kids is trying to get a rise out of another group of kids. First they play happy songs. No response. Then they try a funeral dirge. Still no response. Nothing but crickets.

Jesus goes on...
33 For John the Baptist came neither eating bread nor drinking wine, and you say, ‘He has a demon.’34 The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and you say, ‘Here is a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners.’ 35 But wisdom is proved right by all her children.”
The funeral dirge represents John. He can't bring many people to repentance. The happy sound of the pipe represents Jesus. He can't win many people to grace. By and large, the response of the people is... crickets.

There are some who respond to John and Jesus. Each person who does becomes living proof of God's wisdom.

The question for us is: Is Jesus getting a rise out of us today? If we ask this question of the present generation as a whole,  I fear the answer might be something like, "Yes, as long as Jesus comes strong with a good worship band, posh facilities, excellent children's programs, and interesting teaching." This culture has been jaded by churchianity. And the more that happens, the more people assume they know what Jesus has to offer, and they pass on it. Jesus calls... crickets.

For us as individuals, there are many factors that might block Jesus from getting a rise out of us -- pace of life, lifestyle, career, romantic interests, parenting, etc. The thing is, Jesus doesn't give out passes for caring about other things more than him. What king would?

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