I first heard about Donald Miller's Blue Like Jazz about a million years ago. Our Campus Crusade for Christ used to give copies away, and I somehow always missed the nights I could have acquired a free book. It seemed like it was a given that I had read it, but I just never had. More recently, I feel like I'm close friends with Mr. Miller because of how intimate he is with the Relevant Podcast, which I listen to constantly. When my Donald Miller-lovin' sister gave me his most famous book for Christmas, I was obviously excited to know what all the fuss was about.
Miller's writing style is very unique; each chapter is its own separate essay but the book as a whole also follows a certain flow. He jumps around chronologically but somehow manages to not sound all that confusing, and most of his writing seems like a stream of consciousness, switching subjects as they pop into his head. And yet...it's still simple to understand. As a reader, you kind of get the feeling that you're sitting on a porch in Portland while he just talks to you, swapping stories and sharing intimate thoughts about Christianity. And his thoughts about Christianity are profound, indeed.
As I read, I tried to think in the back of my mind how I could really describe this book and my feelings about it. A really good example came from the book itself. It's kind of a long passage to type all the way out, but bear with me. It's a great example, I think, of his heart throughout the book.
"A long time I went to a concert with my friend Rebecca. Rebecca can sing better than anybody I've ever heard sing. I heard this folksinger was coming to town, and I thought she might like to see him because she was a singer too. The tickets were twenty bucks, which is a lot to pay if you're not on a date. Between songs, though, he told a story that helped me resolve some things about God. The story was about his friend who is a Navy SEAL. He told it like it was true, so I guess it was true, although it could have been a lie.
The folksinger said his friend was performing a covert operation, freeing hostages from a building in some dark part of the world. His friend's team flew in by helicopter, made their way to the compound and stormed into the room where the hostages had been imprisoned for months. The room, the folksinger said, was filthy and dark. The hostages were curled up in a corner, terrified. When the SEALs entered the room, they heard the gasps of the hostages. They stood at the door and called to the prisoners, telling them they were Americans. The SEALs asked the hostages to follow them, but the hostages wouldn't. They sat there on the floor and his their eyes in fear. They were not of healthy mind and didn't believe their rescuers were really Americans.
The SEALs stood there, not knowing what to do. They couldn't possibly carry everybody out. One of the SEALs, the folksinger's friend, got an idea. He put down his weapon, took off his helmet, and curled up tightly next to the other hostages, getting so close his body was touching some of theirs. He softened the look on his face and put his arms around them. He was trying to show them he was one of them. None of the prison guards would have done this. He stayed there for a little while until some of the hostages started to look at him, finally meeting his eyes. The Navy SEAL whispered that they were Americans and were there to rescue them. Will you follow us? he said. The hero stood to his feet and one of the hostages did the same, then another, until all of them were willing to go. The story ends with all the hostages safe on an American aircraft carrier.
I never liked it when the preachers said we had to follow Jesus. Sometimes they would make Him sound angry. But I liked the story the folksinger told. I liked the idea of Jesus becoming man, so that we would be able to trust Him, and I like that He healed people and loved them and cared deeply about how people were feeling.
When I understood that the decision to follow Jesus was very much like the decision the hostages had to make to follow their rescuer, I knew then that I needed to decide whether or not I would follow Him. The decision was simple once I asked myself, 'Is Jesus the Son of God, are we being held captive in a world run by Satan, a world filled with brokenness, and do I believe Jesus can rescue me from this condition'"
Isn't that an awesome illustration? I love the image so much.
To switch gears slightly, though, I need to talk about a huge theme that runs throughout the whole heart of this book. He talks about how we have done Christianity wrong for too long. We give money to the food shelters and organizations of the world instead of walking down the street and actually feeding food to the poor and homeless. We spend our Sunday nights brainstorming ways to get sinners in the door of our church instead of leaving and going to be friends with people who don't believe the same as us. We live the Christian life within the church walls and within our church friendships but when it comes to people who don't believe the same as us (be that politically or spiritually or ethically), we forget how to interact with other human beings. I think why I love this message so much is because I went to a women's conference in Woodbridge this past weekend that was about exactly this. Jen Hatmaker - who by the way is incredibly awesome - talked about this topic most of the conference; we need to just be friends with the people around us. We need to literally love our neighbors, and not have any kind of agenda or mission or anything at all other than genuinely being friends with them. Not because we are waiting for that moment to ask them to church, but because we honestly and deeply care for them as human beings. Both Don and Jen talk a lot about how incredible it would be if we loved the nonChristians in our lives the same way we love the Christians. You had surgery? A baby? You're out of town? Here are some cookies, a casserole, and I'll mow your lawn. How simple is that? How stinking easy is that? It's not rocket science, and it's not hard. It's what Jesus did, and it's how Jesus loved people.
Gold star, Don. And two thumbs up.
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