rebel with a cause

Check out this quote from Paul Grant in "Blessed are the Uncool":

"Was Jesus really a rebel? Yes, but Jesus didn't rage against some abstract machine, he called people to an old way, the way revealed in the prophets. The way of doing life that Jesus championed had never been done because it had always been resisted. Jesus rocked the boat, and defied the status quo, modeling courageous resistance of the prevailing winds. But in our contemporary culture, rebellion is considered good in its own right - and a thrilling one at that. We're out to transgress. But we don't really have any agenda beyond rebellion itself. Was Jesus really a rebel? Sure. But our version of rebellion is a shallow impression."

JOEL...GET TO THE POINT

It is so easy for us to become "deconstructionists". We so often tear down the church and other positions and styles and leaders, just for the sake of proving that we're cool or different (or even because we think we're right in our criticism). And you've got to admit, being a rebel feels pretty good.

But I don't think you ever found Jesus criticizing just for the sake of being right. His end goal was always with the intent of moving people towards something positive. Jesus only tore down, that which he was able to replace with truth. He never created a void, which he was not also fully capable of filling.

At some point I realized that I've grown weary of "deconstructing". Not that I don't slip back into old habits. But I think we need to avoid a rebelliousness that sends us down the slippery slope which ends in a pit of negativity. I think God has called us to be "constructionists" and to build something of value in this world.

Not what you are against.
What are you for?

Not just what you see wrong.
But also how can you make it right?

Not just all the things you don't like.
But how can you make things better?

Jesus was a rebel WITH a cause. He didn't just identify the problem...He said, "Come to me to find the answers."