Out there, somewhere, lies a new frontier to discover.  
It's dangerous.  
It's uncharted.  
But the Wild calls to our souls in the stillness of night beckoning us to new horizons.  The Wild stirs within our hearts whispering of an unlived adventure that requires the best of who we are as we leave the comfort of what is known for the unfamiliar.
It's heroic.
It's sacrificial.
In here, somewhere, in the core of our being exists a compass that points us to our True North guiding us into a pursuit of a never stopping, never giving up, unbreaking, always and forever Love. 


This is the call of Jesus.


This is not a call to safety.  This is for the wild at heart.  
This is not a call to religious piety.  This is for the spiritually barbaric.
This is not a call to play small.  This is for the truly brave.


There is no middle ground.  Once the threshold of what is known has been crossed, there is no going back to an ordinary life.  The quest, the journey has begun and it WILL take all those willing to embark outward from the fringes of complacency into the wild, scandalous places.


Jesus didn't just teach this, He modeled it.

Jesus is the guy who stood in the raging sea.
Jesus is the guy who touched disease infected people.
Jesus is the guy who dialogued with promiscuous women.
Jesus is the guy who provoked religious zealots.
Jesus is the guy who ate with crooks.
Jesus is the guy who befriended betrayers.
Jesus is the guy who drank with drunks.
Jesus is the guy who healed the hurting.
Jesus is the guy who accepted the rejected.
Jesus is the guy who hung out with the Poor, the Outcast, the Lonely, the "Not Good Enough's", the Cheats, the Theives, the Idolaters, and the Murderers.


Jesus lived on the fringes of what religion and society taught were tolerable but He didn't stop there.  He went further.  He didn't just tolerate this ragtag tribe of ragamuffins, He loved them.  And once they experienced the radical, unmerited favor of God-in-the-flesh, Jesus-- the One who looked with Divine-human eyes deep into their secret wounds, into their frailty, into their pride and unbelief-- they were never the same.


If I claim to be a follower of Jesus, the call upon my life is no less than this.  It is to run, run with wild abandon toward the fringes of what religion and our society teach are simply tolerable and, in some instances, intolerable.  With great confidence, you and I can move toward the fringes because we have One who not only showed us how but gave us His Spirit to empower us as we go.


So what's stopping us?!


Are we so extravagantly loving that those far from God are drawn to Him through our example?  Are we are so insatiably curious about those not like us that we learn their stories-- the laughing, the crying, the anger?  If not, why?  Isn't that exactly what Jesus did?  Isn't that exactly what Jesus did for you?  For me?


Jesus' call is a movement of love toward the wild, scandalous places.  A love that is sacrificial, more-than-a-feeling, never stopping, never giving up, unbreaking, always and forever.  


This kind of love requires resolution and grit.


Here's where it gets real.


Who are the fringes in America today?
That single mom in your neighborhood who's sleeping around...
That couple who drinks too much...
That guy who lives alone and never talks to anyone...
That girl who likes girls and sometimes boys...
That boy who doesn't know his real dad...


The list is virtually endless but let me highlight one in particular.  The minority by far is the homosexual.  Here's what I don't understand: how come the rest of our world is having this conversation with more grace than the Church?  This shouldn't be!


How much of a minority is this fringe group?  According to The Williams Institute at UCLA, a foremost think tank on LGBT, less than 4% of the American population is gay (reference).  That ought to be exactly where we are showing up with the love and grace of Jesus.


I know.  If you're a well studied Christian, you're probably thinking, "But homosexuality is a sin!"  You're right and I'm glad we can look to Scripture to clear this up because it does say that homosexuals won't inherit the Kingdom of God.  And that's where it ends, right?  

Or do you not know that wrongdoers will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor men who have sex with men nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. And that is what some of you were. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God. (1 Corinthians 6:8-11, NIV)

That list again is... 
- The sexually immoral (um, porn anyone?)
- Idolaters (do we love anyone or anything more than Jesus?)
- Adulterers (opposite-sex lust recently? Matthew 5:27-28 will clear that up)
- Homosexuals (same-sex lust)
- Thieves
- The greedy (yikes!)
- Drunkards (UT tailgating season is coming.  I'm just sayin'...)
- Slanderers
- Swindlers (cheat on your taxes, forge a signature, or exaggerate recently?)


It sounds to me that we ALL need the beautiful message of Jesus to exonerate us from what enslaved us to set us free to live anew.  Jesus went to the fringes, into the wild, to teach those most rejected by religion and society about God's never stopping, never giving up, unbreaking, always and forever Love.  But don't miss this, Jesus' grace may accept us just as we are but, out of love, He won't allow us to stay the same way that we found Him.

And that is what some of you were. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.

Oh, and the last I checked, having a conversation with someone wasn't condoning sin but uncovering a story, a story Jesus died for.