After reading Shane Claiborne’s Irresistible Revolution, I have found myself rethinking how I measure myself as a Christian. On the back of the book, the description states that the book will “comfort the disturbed, disturb the comfortable, and invite believers to change the world with Christ’s radical love.” While I do not think I will be sleeping with the homeless anytime soon, I have given more thought to the teachings and ideas of giving to the poor and helping my brothers and sisters in Christ.
Although I did not agree with Claiborne on all of his issues, his interpretations of Jesus’ teachings presented a different way to look at the church and how and for what Christians should be living their lives. I still believe that our main goal as Christians is to live our lives in reflection to what we believe and to do everything in our power to pursue Christ and bring as many people with us in that journey. Claiborne might disagree with this, and I do think, after reading this book, that we are called to help those who do not have the opportunity to help themselves. But I think he missed the point that people need different outlets to come to Christ, and if that is through mega-churches or gold plated WWJD bracelets, at least those people are coming to Christ. I think dedicating your life to a cause is the second step, but the first step cannot be ignored.
In the last second of the book, there was one page where I specifically found myself completely agreeing with him. Throughout the book, I found myself generally agreeing with what Claiborne had to say, but on page 350, the words on the page seemed to jump out to me. In the last sentence of the middle paragraph, he says, “The darkness of our world will try to smother the light, so we have to surround ourselves with people who make us shine brighter.” I think this statement can relate to anyone, whether you are a Christian or not. Through jealousy, bitterness, judgment, or any type of hatred, other people can so easily take away your happiness. But by surrounding ourselves with people who care and want us to pursue healthy relationships and lifestyles, we can better use our abilities to spread the word of God or serve the homeless—whatever our calling is.
Shane Claiborne’s last line in the book says, “So with every head bowed and every eye closed, let’s get started.” Instead of closing the book, he states the ending more like an invitation, challenging the readers to pursue their religion whole-heartedly. After reading the book, I couldn’t understand how anyone could not be moved by what he was saying. His book is not just about understanding Christianity, it’s about understanding ourselves and learning our places in our religion. So in the words of Shane Claiborne, let’s pray “that God would be merciful enough to save us from this present ugliness and make our lives so beautiful that people cannot resist that mercy.”
