I’ve always wanted to be cool.

I’ve wanted to be one of the popular ‘in-crowd’ people who seem relaxed, confident and comfortable in every situation.  James Bond cool.

Sadly, I’ve never pulled it off.

Even when I was a California kid surfing every day in the summer or later, driving a convertible along the coast.

I’ve never had that natural cool quality, the ‘it’ factor or whatever the genetic marker is that gives you the graceful ease and friendly flow that attracts people like panting deer to water.

After trying and failing for so long I became exhausted, ready to throw in the towel.

But then I realized something.

Jesus Christ was the ultimate cool.  He attracted everyone, from Roman rulers and religious leaders to beggars, soldiers and prostitutes.

He was always relaxed and confident, never defensive or insecure.  He related to everyone and never seemed to judge anyone – except those with uncool attitudes or agendas that placed them under divine judgment already.

Jesus was at his coolest, in my opinion, when he lifted the downtrodden, affirmed women, healed the sick and set people free from shackles of every kind; whether slavery to sin, to demons or to messed up thinking.  Not to mention salvaging mankind through his personal sacrifice.

Jesus Christ was so cool!   He was so rich and secure in his divine identity and purpose he just shared all that he had with others – which impressed people as very cool.

So how do we follow his lead and become ‘JC cool?’

It’s actually quite simple – and thankfully supernatural – so we don’t have to work up a sweat trying to be cool.

Here’s the deal found in 2 Corinthians 8:9 (with my theological commentary in parentheses):

“For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich (i.e. supremely cool) he became poor (uncool) for your sake, that through his (totally uncool) poverty you might become rich (aka: incomprehensibly cool).”

See?  We get to trade our dorky, defensive and destructive spirits for His powerful and life-giving presence.  That is supernaturally cool.

Because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Spirit (Romans 5:5) and the love of Christ flows like a refreshing river in and through our souls, we are destined, designed and ordained to be cool!  …If we let it happen.

How do we let God’s river flow in us?

We pray and say ‘Yes!’ to God and ask him to fill us with his Spirit, to expose and cast out our fears, to heal our hearts (often through repentance and forgiveness) and renew our minds and flow outward through us to others.  Any time, anywhere.

Simply put: We can be as ‘JC Cool’ as we want (or allow ourselves) to be.

For your sake and for the sake of the world, I pray you beg God to make you as cool as Jesus Christ.  Let’s pray:

Thank you Father for sending your son Jesus and inviting us to follow and imitate him, filled with your life-changing Spirit. Help us to accept your deal to exchange our natural selves for the supernaturally cool people you call us to be. In Jesus name, we pray. Amen!

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