The Struggle Bus

If you've kept up with my blog at all, chances are you've noticed I quote Tenth Avenue North quite a bit... like a lot actually. But, it's mostly because their lyrics speak much better than my words ever will. 

Anyways, this weekend I got the chance to go to one of their concerts. Their music and ministry always delivers such a strong message and always hits home with my heart. But one specific thing that Mike Donehey (the lead singer) said at the concert really stuck with me:

"Christianity is not a competition, it's a celebration."

Along with that are these lyrics, "hallelujah, we are free to struggle. We aren't struggling to be free."

Mike went on to talk about how there is no reason for competing in God's Kingdom. We're all the same, we all are desperate for Christ to pour into our lives, whether we recognize that fact or not. We're all struggling day to day, but we've all already been freed.

It reminded me a lot of what I've been dealing with in my spiritual walk this past month.

Last week I wrote about how God choosing to love us is a truly vulnerable love, and that's one way we can love him back, by being vulnerable. Part of that vulnerability is in our struggles and I love how these lyrics put it. It isn't us making it through our struggles that frees us in Christ. We're already free in Christ. The guilt and the shame from the things that we've been through are already broken chains that we just have to choose to let go and leave behind. We're free to struggle.

Hearing this message unites us as believers: we're all struggling. That's why there is no competition in Christianity. Sadly in the church it seems like that is what things come down to sometimes. Walls go up and the race is on for who can be the best Christian who has it all together. But that isn't what following Jesus is.

I love Tenth Avenue North concerts because everyone gathers, lets down their walls, and worships God out of their brokenness and despite their struggles because they're already free in the arms of Christ.

Following Jesus isn't a race to the top or a catwalk showing off who has it all together. It's actually the exact opposite because honestly speaking, at the risk of offending someone, I think the human race pretty much fails at everything. We kinda suck sometimes. But we can still celebrate that we're free to come in last place and still be loved. We can be at the bottom of the food chain and still receive all of God's blessings. God loves the losers. And with that in mind, in the community of Christ the competition has to stop. Instead, believers should come together to celebrate that our struggles unite us and our weaknesses allow God to bind us together as a community grounded in Him.

The struggle bus is just that: its a bus. It's a multiple passenger vehicle. It isn't meant to be ridden alone. Its difficult to adopt that mindset, especially when our problems seem like too much of a burden or something we should be ashamed about in the face of other Christians. I imagine the church would experience some drastic changes if we learned to celebrate and share our struggles rather than hide them away for the sake of appearance and competition. 

Maybe you feel like this message doesn't apply to you... But I'm convinced otherwise. Whether you're struggling now or you've been through it already, you're going to struggle with something at some point in time. So, you might as well hop on the struggle bus now and begin sharing and celebrating your need for Christ with the people around you.