Ask anyone who knows me well...they will tell you that Lauren Alice McClure come Jacobs l-o-v-e-s Broadway! I love everything about it-the music, the acting, the dancing, the costumes, the set, the smell of the Playbill-everything. It is a magical world in which I always dreamed I would reside.
A few nights ago, my Grammy and I saw South Pacific at The Centre. I fought hard for the pre-sale tickets months ago and got tickets in the very center of the very first row-just behind the conductor. We were at the players' feet, and we soaked up every moment with simultaneous giggles, oohs, ahhs, and sighs.
Marcelo Guzzo played the lead (a Frenchman named Emile). He had a deep, thundering voice which commanded I hang on his every word and note. Aside from his incredible singing, one line of his really stuck with me. During a heated scene with some Navy officers (South Pacific is set in WWII. in the, you guessed it, South Pacific), he boomed in his thick accent, I know what you are against! What are you for?"
It's as if he knew how I felt about Christianity. Maybe he reads my friend Becky's writing about stoning people for telling us "Happy Holidays" in stores? (I'm paraphrasing.) Oh, how I wish we could all wake up and hear that every day. What am I for? Everyone knows what believers stand against. As my father was told, "Don't smoke, chew, or date girls who do." Alright, I threw that in there because it makes me giggle. My point? I do have one. Christians can get so wrapped up in what they are adamantly against that they forget or downplay what they are for. Please hear me, I am not suggesting we stop holding one another accountable as believers or stop fighting for what is right. I am simply suggesting we keep the focus where the focus should always be-on Jesus. Jesus told us the most important rules were to love God with everything we have and to love each other. He told us to take the planks out of our own eyes before we look at the specks in others'. He told the angry mob to throw the stones if they were without blame themselves--they all walked away.
My wise Mama has talked before about the kind of believer who draws people in. I believe she called them "Happy Christians." I'll call it the "Shirley Model." Working with Shirley taught me how to show people what you are for. I saw this woman pray with people who were hurting, myself included, speak encouraging words, and heal people with her smile. She would always focus on how good and strong and worth it her Jesus is, and that worked. Beating people over the head with bibles, even if it's a great translation? Not effective. The guy holding the sign on Green River Rd. that says REPENT OR DIE!...? Probably not going to win a lot of souls with his Sharpie work. Torturing grieving families at funerals? Don't even get me started! What about the little girl who loved Broadway-the one who sat in judgment herself when she deemed it necessary? No.good. I want to be the kind of girl who can tell others why I am for Jesus. I want them to know how He brought me through times of paralyzing depression, how He held my family together when it would have fallen completely apart, how I felt Him cry with me during times of agonizing pain, how He healed my body when I was about to give up hope, how He brought the most incredible love story to my life with this amazing man I get to call mine forever, how He has blessed me with the greatest family, friends, and work, how He has used even me. The world knows what we are against. I think it's time to show them what we are for, with or without the heavy French accent.
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