You’ll find that Christ spent most of his life healing, teaching, and hanging out with those who wanted to be called to a higher way of life. He got a kick out of all the things we do—eating, drinking, swapping stories, telling jokes—and he got the right kind of kick because he was utterly united to the Father in prayer. He made himself available to all kinds of very unpromising people—just as we’re called to do. He had a special heart for those so desperate that they were willing to make holy fools of themselves in their hunger and need. Christ reveals himself in the deeply messy, profoundly awkward world of face-to-face human interaction with people in trouble, conflict, doubt, hunger, thirst, and pain.

The real encounter with Christ takes place not when we are all dressed up and polished and nicely groomed and brandishing our résumés but in our broken humanity. Encounter with Christ happens in our longing for a kingdom that is not of this world and that we must search for and work for with all our might in this world.

—Excerpted from Holy Desperation by Heather King