23- Fire in my belly

^"You pushed me into this, God, and I let you do it.
You were too much for me.
And now I'm a public joke. 
They all poke fun at me...

But if I say, "Forget it! 

   No more God-Messages from me!"

The words are fire in my belly, 

   a burning in my bones.

I'm worn out trying to hold it in. 

   I can't do it any longer!"

-Jeremiah 20: 7-9

Jesus Freak. What words... what pictures... what memories... immediately enter your brain when you read those words? Maybe they're positive. I mean, maybe you consider yourself a 'Jesus Freak,' and for you that's a beautiful thing; you're in love with God, you can't get enough of Him, and like a goofy-love-struck teenager He's all you can talk about. Or, maybe, you remember walking into a fairly mild rock concert and a guy in a stained "I'm with Jesus" t-shirt was screaming hate at you from a bullhorn. And all your thinking is, "Dude, it's a Dave Matthews concert... it's not exactly Black Sabbath." No. For most of us, being a 'Jesus Freak' is not a good thing. Jesus Freaks are intolerant and close minded. If their message was a song it would have one note. The picture we get is hardly compelling. 

On the other hand, because very few things in the world have one hand (except maybe a pirate), you look at MLK. No matter your religious or ethnic background, most of us are inspired by MLK. He changed the world and maybe on an individual basis, you've heard his speeches, read his papers and he's changed your world. I would argue, he reached an entire nation and changed an old corrupt system because he had a fire in His belly to speak God's word no matter what the cost. Youtube 'MLK speech' and it's plain to see. For some people he was annoying, he called them out (not just white people) and said lots of "Jesus-y" things. But for some, it was freedom. And I think it came from the same place Jeremiah talks about. 

Sometimes I want to be PC, to agree with everyone and limit how much I talk about God. Then there's other times when the spirit fills me with so much love for the world I feel like I might just burst if I don't tell somebody!! 

I think that's the way Mary must have felt. She finds out she's growing God's son in her belly, no ones gonna believe her... still, in that moment she just has to sing! We call it the "Magnificant." 

(Switchfoot's Jon Foreman after a concert singing
"Your Love is Strong")