Last spring/summer, I was generously gifted with the book Beautiful Outlaw written by John Eldredge. Shout out to Alyse Morrissey for being incredibly kind and thoughtful! This book had greatly impacted her love for Jesus, and she couldn't keep it to herself. I became the beneficiary of her inspiration.
I didn't pick it up until August when I was on a short-term missions trip to NYC with the high school youth at Westgate Church. Once I had it in my hands, the words flowing into my heart, I couldn't put it back down. At that time, I especially needed a rejuvenation of love for Jesus in my heart. While it's the Spirit that inspires renewed affection for Christ, this book gave me a new perspective on who Christ is. It fueled a desire in me to seek Him more fully.
There really isn't anything magical about Beautiful Outlaw. It's certainly not a piece of literature that is going to change your entire understanding of Christianity. It's not even a book that comprehensively explores the personhood and deity of Christ. Rather, it's a book written for the purpose of exploring the life of Jesus in a new light - a more real light. There are parts of this endeavor that I wholeheartedly stand behind. Revisiting the gospels with the intention of seeing Jesus as He really is rather than the person we've been previously taught or conditioned to accept Him as is an honorable task. We should never settle for a second hand experience of Jesus when we have the resource (the Bible) to encounter Him personally. This raw look at the person of Jesus through the stories told about him by Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John proved fruitful in my life. The fresh look at Jesus that Eldredge encourages stoked a fire of affection in my heart for Jesus.
But I also felt a little uncomfortable with the posture he takes towards religion, and subsequently, the church. Because of Eldredge's blatant warnings about the religiosity that we own in American Christianity, some argue that the message this book sends is more hurtful than helpful. I honestly don't know exactly where to stand at this juncture. On the one hand, I think we are better for being warned about the evils that can penetrate our religiousness. The devil deceives. He can use religion (referring to the do's and don'ts, the extremes of legalism, an unclear understanding of who God is, etc.) to stand between us and the true God. He can use inherently good things and twist them so they become obstacles rather than pathways. We do need to be careful in this regard. But, and this is a big but, we should not reject religion and/or the church just because it can be used by evil and for evil. Christ came for the church. Christ came to make all things new, and that includes religion and the church.
I believe that Beautiful Outlaw was written with the intention of turning hard hearts into hearts full of the love of the real Christ. Christ, who was fully human and fully God simultaneously. Christ, who was filled with righteous anger but also overwhelming compassion. Christ, who willingly substituted His life for ours so that we may never have to experience separation from God. Christ, who desperately wants us to encounter Him as He really is. I think this book can reveal Christ to you more, especially as you read it with Scripture in mind and a prayerful heart.
Hope you enjoy! Happy reading.
<3 sarah
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