On this day, twenty-four years ago, musician and artist, Rich Mullins, was killed in a car accident. He left us, but his words and music should continue to resonate with those of us who are passionate about Jesus more than we are with our denomination or any moral behaviors. Rich Mullins was ahead of his time. He had concluded and spoke out that Christianity was so much more than moral behaviors. I always knew that, but I would keep it to myself because people would chastise me. They chastised me because they were relying on those moral behaviors for their Christian lives. We must be better.
Rich Mullins attended the same Bible College that I did. At Cincinnati Bible College, the rule book was equitable to a moral standard book, and it was thick. Not that a Christian school cannot have rules, but there must be an understanding that moral behaviors can keep us healthy, but they do not in any way create in us a closer relationship to Jesus. Our relationship to Jesus is not about behavior. It’s about communicating with Jesus and being who we are when no one is looking. That is a true Christian.
To have a closer relationship with Jesus we spend time with him, but not to learn about him and what he did when he was on earth, but to hear his voice above the noise in our own lives. Jesus didn’t lecture Zacchaeus on his behavior with cheating people on their taxes. Jesus accepted Zacchaeus and then went to his house for a party. The presence of Jesus changed Zacchaeus. Zacchaeus could hear Jesus above the noise because he was listening. We must listen to Jesus. It wasn’t a disciple that went over and berated him. The twelve were fearful of Zacchaeus. They were just as surprised at his change as anyone else was. We need to allow the presence of Jesus to change our behavior. Jesus empowers me. Yes, he speaks through the voices of humans, but those voices do not guilt shame me. They empower me, which is how I know it is the voice of Jesus.
Rich Mullins was probably not the best example for following all the rules at Cincinnati Bible College, which is why I admire him. He was one of the best examples of someone who loved God, struggled with life, and served others. He lived on a Native American reservation to work with the people. That is putting Jesus’s love into action, which is much better than following all the rules at college. I may have broken some of those rules, especially when it came to “No dating on your internships.” Let’s just say that an internship offers new people and new opportunities. I also experienced the love and grace of Jesus from those relationships.
Finally, we can mourn the loss of a genius like Rich Mullins who challenged the system of church, but we can do better as we live a life that refuses to follow Jesus with just our morality. Jesus is so much bigger than any morals or rules that humans have created. Let us emulate his love and grace. Let us love God and love others as ourselves. Then, when people wonder how we are managing our lives, they will see Jesus. People who are not walking with Jesus can have strong morals and serve people. People who are walking with Jesus serve people and love them with love and grace. People walking with Jesus have people say, “I want what you have.” May we live our lives to hear that statement because awe we all know, we just have to take it “Step by Step,” because our God is an “Awesome God.”
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