"I like your Christ. I do not like your Christians. Your Christians are so unlike your Christ."
When I first heard this quote by Mohandas Gandhi, I have to admit, I agreed with him. I most likely spouted some tirade to the nearest unfortunate ear, about how the Church is a failure, that all we do is judge people and ask for their money so we can buy bigger fountains. Now, however, as I reflect on these words, I am saddened. Why did the lost run to Jesus and see Him as the Messiah the world had longed for and His own people rejected, but they run from us like the plague? Is it not our mission, as the Church, to reach the lost with the Good News that God loves them and gave His son's life for the opportunity to have a relationship with them? The simple answer: me. You see, I'm a decent guy. I love my wife, I don't cheat on my taxes, I don't kick my dog (often); I'm generous; I use my gifts to glorify God and serve His people. But the Bible makes it clear that my goodness is, well, far from good. Filthy, even. Consequently, God has offered us His righteousness in the place of of our pitiful attempts and being good. And that's great news. Except I think we forget it a lot of the time. Instead, we parade our good deeds like Olympic medals. "Check it out - I don't watch R-Rated movies." "Look at this one - most church services attended in a 30-day period." Not that those aren't noble pursuits, but if that's your goal as a follower of Christ, you're missing the point. I see the point as this: we all have sinned and fallen short of God's glory. That's the common ground between us and those we so flippantly label as "lost". Thus, that should be the starting point in any evangelistic endeavors we take on. "You feel unworthy? You are. Me too." Let's quit spending so much effort on hiding our struggles and flaws in an attempt to look good. Let's bare all (figuratively - keep your clothes on, Brian) and realize that all of humanity shares at least this one thing: we all need God, because we suck at being perfect.
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2 comments:
Your post highlights the unfortunate separation of sacred and secular that we in the church tend to push. Jesus made no distinction. So why do we? Probably because it's easier. If you have those "metals" to point at, you can feel ok about things, and not worry about some of the heart issues. Ever notice how we tend to get those "metals" in "events" that are easy for us?
Your existential, post-modern, emergent, Donald Miller readin', Driscoll lovin', soul searchin', on the journey of self discovery - is, is ... cool!
Keep digging deep and sharing. We are all just "brothas just tryin' to work it out."
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