Jesus Has Thrown the Whole World Off Balance

                After a long, eventful day I often think about Flannery O’Connor’s famous villain, The Misfit, from “A Good Man is Hard to Find.” At the end of the story he has a famous line, “Jesus thrown everything off balance.” The Misfit is a nihilist who couldn’t believe in a God he couldn’t see but acknowledged that whether He was who he said he was or not…the world has been thrown into something new and bewildering because of Him.

                Bouncers encapsulate the heart of the dismantling of the world as we know it. Hurricane Harvey has brought so much destruction. Life never slows down after disaster strikes. It can feel like your home will never be a real home again. Then, you are hit by illness, financial stress, discouragement, etc. Jesus preached about His Kingdom and it was one of peace. Only exceptional students spend a week of their summer bringing peace through the restoration of homes and community spaces. In a world where discouragement seems to be all around, there is something delightfully off-putting about teenagers speaking life into communities.

                What a testimony of God’s life-altering love and redemption. Jesus has thrown the world off balance and it is for this reason that we praise Him. May we be a people who live into the new politic and ethics of Christ. It is our prayer that students will continue to live into this mystical vision of Christ’s Kingdom when they go home.