Resist the Urge to Resolve or Remove 3 Tensions

Tension isn't something we think to embrace, as much as something to avoid or resolve.

The Bible repeatedly points at Nazareth as the place Jesus was from. The significance?

From what I gather, somewhere between 80-90% of Jesus' physical life on earth was spent in Nazareth. We don't know much about the years between his family's arrival there and the beginning of his ministry. But God ordained his upbringing to be in this seemingly ordinary place.

Nazareth would become the place that presented Jesus with three tensions you and I still face today. In embracing them, you and I open ourselves to being formed and deepened in order to walk alongside people we would have otherwise avoided.

Tension #1: Being Misunderstood

"Isn't this the carpenter's son?" (Matthew 13:55)

The people of Nazareth thought they knew Jesus. This would've been the opportune time to pull out a miracle and prove them wrong. Yet he doesn't. There's a reminder here.

If you need to be understood by everyone, you're on the verge of expending a lot of energy better used elsewhere.

When a young man called my daughter a derogatory name a couple months ago, I was ready to dish out some justice. I even daydreamed about accompanying her to school everyday. But isn't a better use of energy to reinforce her value and worth in advance of the eventual misunderstandings life will present?

Tension #2: Perceived Obscurity

Nobody wants to live in obscurity, but we love the stories of people who have.

Nazareth was a season of life for Jesus that we know little of, but both scholars and historians agree was filled with the human experience for Jesus. In other words: ordinary and obscure.

Show me the person who had a million followers posting nothing but praise on day 1, and I'll show you someone with an incomplete narrative. Truth be told, we gain more hope hearing the thoughts/emotions/challenges/insights from someone's everyday experiences than their mountaintop experiences.

You want the mountain guide who started in the valley, not the one who helicoptered to the summit.

Tension #3: Eventual Rejection

Rejection is the very medicine we need to deal with the condition every one of us faces: a hungry, unfulfilled ego.

You and I are going to find fans, and we're going to find the opposite. The more life I live, the more convinced I become to embrace, rather than avoid, the moments of rejection I encounter. It cultivates humility, and keeps us dependent on our Heavenly Father.

On top of it, we might just find some fellow companions in the midst of it.

My friend - these tensions are not obstacles to walking with people. They're the foundation for it. Embrace them without having to explain yourself, and watch what God does with it.

Richard Foster said it well:

Until next time, walk in the tension. After all, we're in it together.

Nathan