At this point, most people pause to ask me if I'm crazy. Shouldn't I be thrilled? Isn't that what we want? To be absolutely surrounded by a culture where Christianity is the norm? People tell me that we're so blessed to be in a community where we learn about Christianity, where we can easily find a church or a Christian organization or a small group to join. We can listen to Christian radio stations, wear Christian clothes, and even put nifty little fish on the backs of our cars. We can go to camps and conferences, hear cool Christian speakers, make awesome Christian friends, and, if God wills it, get a smokin' hot Christian spouse. We can even go on mission trips and serve others like Christians do! We are so blessed in this part of the world to be able to be Christians.
But where is our Christ? Where is Jesus?
Here, in the Bible Belt of the United States, we so often replace our Savior with our religion. We somehow convince ourselves into believing that by participating in these organizations, groups, and activities, we are living holy lives. We delude ourselves into thinking that Christianity is a decision we made, a culture we accepted, a type of person we want to be, a religion we think is cool.
Where is the love relationship with a God of the universe who beckons us to take up our cross and follow Him? Where is the adoration for an utterly majestic being who compels us to love Him more than all else with every fiber of our being for every moment of our existence, even unto eternity? Where is passion for the sacrificial lamb who tells us to sell all our possessions and follow Him? Where is the obedience to a Jehovah who commands us to take care of the lost and rejected, the hurting and lonely, the poor and the homeless, the orphans and widows, with every single breath that we breath?
Where is that follower of Jesus Christ?
How is it that I live in a town where the religious demographics are overwhelmingly Christian, and yet annually remains one of the poorest counties in the nation? How is it that I live in a city where so many people say they are Christians, but remains one of the largest and most unruly centers for alcoholism and drunkenness in America? How is it that I live in place where people proudly walk around wearing jewelry, paraphernalia, and clothing that is blatantly Christian, and yet locals are under a constant threat of gang violence?
Ghandi was a wonderful guy, wasn't he? He was full of wisdom, kindness, and truth. He was open to the Gospel, and learned much of his strategy for his peaceful revolution in India from Jesus' example. When asked why he finally rejected Christianity, he replied: "If I ever met a Christian, I would become one." and again, "I love your Christ, but not your Christians. Your Christians are so unlike your Christ."
Can you imagine that? A man who openly thought Christ offered something different, something special, wisdom and knowledge and love unlike anything anyone else had come close to. Who used Him as an example he personally followed. But, who ultimately, rejected His divinity because those who claimed to know Him looked so evil, so calloused, so hypocritical, he was convinced there was no way that same God could live within them. Christians are, in some way, guilty for the state of Ghandi's soul. Ghandi, and millions of others.
My point in saying all this is not to down Christian activities and organizations. Nor is it to imply that every Christian will be perfect. I'm a churchboy in every sense of the word, and I am no where near good, much less flawless.
But the way we so often view these organizations or trips as modes of our faith or as the defining moments of our Christian walk is as unhealthy as it is irrational. Your spiritual state is not reflective of the trips you go on, the church you attend, the groups you're in, the catch phrases you use, or the way you dress. We don't look forward to a retreat, we look forward to the ultimate rest. We don't pursue a certain culture in this world, we pursue the Kingdom Coming. We don't look down to a cross around our necks, we look up to a cross planted on a hill called Golgotha. We don't serve Christianity, we serve Christ.
The word Christian means little Christ and again, Christ follower. That's exactly what it's meant to be. We are meant to walk with Christ, to look like Him, to become more and more like Him, and to fall passionately in love with Him. It's not just a card you write on or a decision you make before the altar. It is a choice we make every single moment of our lives. Do we choose, in the moment, to put Christ first, to love Him alone, to remain in Him and allow Him to remain in us? Do we choose, here and now, to be Christians?
Christianity is a wonderful thing; it's historically accurate, filled with truth, beauty, and power. It's been an enormous factor in the pursuit of human rights, peace, and world unity. It has changed the face of the world like no other religion has. But it doesn't take a genius to notice that, like every other religion, Christianity can fall short. Look at the Crusades, the Inquisition, the Salem Witch Trials. Christianity is influenced by people, and we have a knack for corrupting things.
But the one thing we can never corrupt, the one thing we can never move, the one thing we can never twist, break, soil, or defile is Jesus Christ. When humans touch Jesus, no matter how disgusting we are, He's always able to cleanse us. No matter how far we fall, He can pick us up. No matter how confused we are, He can give us clarity. He's too holy, righteous, and full of light for our dark and hurting lives to threaten Him.
What I dream of, what I so desperately desire, is not a culture where Christianity is a common title a person has. It's not a place where we are comfortable and content to simply be associated with Christianity. It's a world so consumed with Jesus Christ and the power of His Holy Spirit that it changes the way we live and the lives of those around us. I want to dwell in a place where sex is so revered and so passionate that it is reserved for the most intimate of relationships and reflects the selflessness two people have towards one another. I want to live in a culture where the homeless are supported willingly and gladly treated like human beings with hearts and souls. I want a place where the prostitute is taken in and treated with such gentleness and care that others believe her to be someone of importance when they see the way Christians treat her. I want to see a place where alcohol is used with such joy and difference that people don't need to get drunk to experience it's power to bring people together; where people are so at peace they don't have to escape to the smoke of a joint or the bottom of a bottle to have a moments' rest. Where every widow is loved and every orphan has a home. Where the language is love and it's spoken both in word and in deed. Where Jesus Christ is the focus and purpose behind every movement, thought, and action. That is the Christ culture I crave.
And it can and will be a reality.
You can just barely see it coming. Like a curtain slowly parting to reveal some beautiful masterpiece, we are, moment by moment, coming closely to the Kingdom. And we aren't leaving this place to get there. It's coming here. For the moment, it's our precious pleasure to experience Jesus' love and share it with all those around us. We get to be a part of the dance that brings Heaven to Earth.
"Then Samuel said, 'Do you think all God wants are sacrifices—empty rituals just for show? He wants you to listen to him! Plain listening is the thing, not staging a lavish religious production." - 1 Samuel 15:22
"Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world." - James 1:27
"3 We know that we have come to know him if we keep his commands. 4Whoever says, “I know him,” but does not do what he commands is a liar, and the truth is not in that person. 5 But if anyone obeys his word, love for God[a] is truly made complete in them. This is how we know we are in him: 6 Whoever claims to live in him must live as Jesus did." - 1 John 2:3-6
"Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth. This is how we know that we belong to the truth, and how we set our hearts at rest in His presence"- 1 John 3:19
"Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks." - John 4:23
"6Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen: to loose the chains of injustice and untie the cords of the yoke, to set the oppressed free and break every yoke? 7 Is it not to share your food with the hungry and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter—when you see the naked, to clothe them, and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood? 8 Then your light will break forth like the dawn, and your healing will quickly appear; then your righteousness[a] will go before you, and the glory of the LORD will be your rear guard. 9 Then you will call, and the LORD will answer; you will cry for help, and he will say: Here I am." - Isaiah 58: 6-9
Praying that we all see the Kingdom Come! God bless!
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