WHAT IF WE WERE CHRISTIANS?
What is God’s intent for the church?
“His intent was that through the church, the manifold wisdom of God should be made known...” Eph. 3:10
Christianity is not an American concept, Jesus is not a conservative republican and the gospel’s focus is not about making people into good, law abiding citizens or even good church members. The gospel is the good news that God has made an avenue for us to become what we were originally created to be, His friend.
I can’t say that I subscribe to Darwin’s theory of evolution in the human species, but I think being a church person is about the “survival of the fittest.” We try so hard to be the “best” church in town. We say we have the most “truth”, the “best” worship services, and we’ll use every gimmick available to have that little bit of edge over our “competitors.” We make Jesus our exclusive “product” that we’re trying to sell to the world.
Don’t get me wrong, our gathering together for worship should be the best we can do, but compared to what God has given us, not compared to the group down the street can do.
When my wife and I were first married we spent a lot of time at her sister’s trailer house in a low income area helping her care for her two sons. A woman that spoke very little English lived across the alley. She knew my sister-in-law and came over one day, and I’m not making this up, asked her if she thought I would get her pregnant because the governmental benefits she was receiving were about to expire for the child she had. What?! We recoil at the thought, but we present Christ in the same way. Not sexually of course, but what more can you give than to bare your soul to God in complete vulnerability, to give yourself to Him, but for benefits? That is a perversion of His intent.
Are there benefits?
Remember, God is not an American in a fancy suit and He doesn’t use the same standard that we do. For the most part, we are millionaires compared to our brothers and sisters in foreign countries that are lucky to get a skimpy meal every other day. I dress better to go to sleep in my climate controlled house than they do to brave sleeping on the ground outside in the harshest of environments.
The salt has been trapped in the shaker so long that it has become a rock that will not flow out. Bang us on the table, God, until we’re broken enough to fit through the opening.
How would you have responded to the command to sell everything you own and give it to the poor and follow Jesus? That is diametrically opposed to our Benefits Program.
How long has it been since we walked through a park full of homeless people and wondered if they had eaten, have we ever wondered? When was the last time you looked at a teenager, baggy pants, headphones, probably listening to music that glorifies violence and sex, and cared for him, saw him as a soul and not a menace or a nuisance. When was the last time we saw a woman, dressed immodestly, flaunting herself and were able to look beyond the façade and see a hurting person that needs a God of love to validate her worth. When have we ever seen like Jesus?
We haven’t because we’re not Christians. We’re church people, but what if we were Christians?
