My husband is one of the smartest people I know when it comes to Christianity & the Bible (or sometimes what may seem like Christianity vs. the Bible). Last Sunday we were up at his home church where he grew up. He was speaking in the morning Palm Sunday service as well as at the Youth Service in the evening. Most of what I’m writing is out of response to Scott’s teaching on Sunday. So a lot of these ideas I cannot take credit for. But I wanted to talk about my response.
I’ve been reading the blogs and posts from my friends recently who have been mulling over the “What does it mean to be a Christian?” topic. Which got me thinking, how is it that we are to be known?
“They will know you by your love.”
This verse in John 13 is often repeated in churches. It’s usually followed by the battle cry of “We love people! We love people! We love people!”
Two questions that I’ve been asking myself concerning this:
1.) Do I really love people, or do I love the thought of “loving people”? Love is not an easy thing. And people aren’t always easy to love. But it’s certainly easy to love people who I don’t know.
2.) Can we really love people if we don’t know them, if we don’t understand their struggles, or who they are? I guess it depends on if you believe love is an action word or just a feeling in this case.
Growing up I always heard, “Well, our reactions are different.” Really? I’m not sure if this is true. Are we then saying we don’t get angry as much? We gossip less? We reach out to help people more? I don’t know if I believe that. I’ve met very many amazing people who didn’t consider themselves believers. And I’ll be honest; many times their reactions to tough situations, their ability to get along with people and their charity towards others far out matched mine. Is it a good idea to have Christ work through us to make us better people? Absolutely! But, if that is the measuring stick by which we are to know Christians, it’s not a very good one.
How was Jesus different?
“Jesus said things nobody else would say. He went places nobody else would go. He did things nobody else would or could do.” –Scott McIntyre (and I’m sure many other preachers)
He said things nobody else would say. With the woman caught in adultery, Christ said, “Let Him without sin cast the first stone.” As a church whole, do we do that? If we do, it’s certainly not publicized in the media. Often we see churches picketing funerals of fallen homosexual soldiers. We see them burning books of other religions. On a personal level, do I withhold judgment from those I see who don’t line up to how I’ve chosen to live my life? Or who falls short of what I believe the standard “good Christian” should be like? Do I help people when they are at their lowest or do I just assume their bad choices got them there and they’ll have to find their own way back?
He went places nobody went. Jesus wasn’t afraid of sinners. I grew up in a Christian home, went to a Christian private school, went to youth group, went to a Christian public school… My interaction with people outside the “Christian” circle was limited. If I met someone who I wanted to share Jesus with, I brought them to church. I never had the confidence to be able to speak to them myself. I don’t think I would ever consider myself afraid, but rather, lazy. It’s easier to bring them into the comfort of the 4 walls of the church and make the pastor give them a good dose of Jesus theology, then it is to try to navigate those waters and speak the words yourself. We design our church services for visitors so that they feel welcomed and comfortable. Does this hinder our ability to speak to them directly since instead we’ve made it so easy to just “bring them to church.” The Bible said, “Go out into your world…” not “get everyone in your church building…”
Jesus did things that nobody else would do. This is where the revelation started for me. Did people follow Jesus because He was nice? Were thousands following him because he was a kind guy? Cause He loved them? I’m sure Jesus was all those things. The Bible said He was. But the only Biblical reference that explains why Jesus had multitudes traveling on the roads, up and down the hills of Galilee, waiting on the other side of the lakes for him, was because he performed miracles. He did things nobody else could do. In fact, the Bible says at one point after the feeding of the 5,000 that Jesus says to the crowd, “You are just here for the food.” And then he doesn’t feed them! He gives them the Word of God. He provides them with spiritual sustenance rather than natural sustenance (which apparently they all felt they needed).
The Bible tells us to go into “your” world, tell the Gospel story, and lay hands on the sick to see them recover. It’s the implementation of the great commission that sets us a part. Jesus tells us to tell His story, and lay hands on the sick. It’s the responsibility of the Holy Spirit to convict people on the inside, to make the Word come alive. And it is the responsibility of our Heavenly Father to heal. He just tells us – tell the story, lay hand on the sick. Are we implementing his simple charge?
So here’s my conclusion: Are we watering down the Gospel message and the power that comes with it in terms of signs, wonders and miracles, and instead stopping at or switching it with just being “nice”? Are we forgetting the power of the Gospel because we are afraid of what may happen? What if we lay hands on the sick and nothing happens? That, my friend, isn’t our responsibility or our concern. There is no more power in my hands, then there is in the foot of a rabbit. But what I do have is the power of Christ in me, working in and through me. There’s the difference! The responsibility to ensure the healing happens doesn’t belong to us. The only thing that belongs to us is the obedience in implementing the charge, 1.) Go into your world, 2.) Tell the Gospel story, 3.) Lay hands on the sick.
Man, have I ever fallen short of taking part and sharing with ‘my’ world the power that is in the Gospel. When was the last time I asked a friend who was sick or hurting if I could pray with them? Of course, when I hear about situations, I do pray for them. But what about “with” them? There are so many opportunities to impact our world with the power of the Gospel.
I’m glad today is a new day.
