“Do They See Christ?”
(A Re-post)
It is a funny thing, Christianity. For most of us, it is a word and title that
we grew up with and explaining what it is to other people comes quite
easy. We have been educated on what
Christianity is, taught that by accepting the salvation of Jesus and confessing
our sins that we are Christians, and understand that this sacred mystery is
fact. We know that to be a Christian we
must serve God and find Jesus in all things.
On the surface, this seems quite simple.
Pondering this question became louder and louder in my mind;
“Why is it so easy for ‘God’s People’ to act un-Godly?”
Perhaps it is because Satan targets Christians the
most. Perhaps it is because we are, as
Dr. Cornel West suggests “imperfect, cracked vessels”. Or perhaps we need to admit that through the
gift/curse of free-will we choose to act this way. If we, as Christians, are asked to seek and
find Christ then aren’t we to realize that other Christians are seeking the
same and, in many cases, they may very well be looking at us? This begs the question which we must not
ignore when it comes to people other than ourselves, when they look at us, DO
THEY SEE CHRIST?
Too often I hear of Christians take shots at one
another. We exhibit false dominance over
others based on title or income or status in our churches, schools and
communities. We break each other down
through the devastation of gossip and rumors.
And all the while we stand solid on the idea that we are Christians in
the understanding that the word means “Christ in us” however, if others cannot
see Him, we are fooling ourselves. When will we stop talking, and start
doing? Stop asking for change and begin
changing ourselves? This begins with
admitting that we don’t know/have it all.
We are no better or worse than the next person, and when the final bell
rings, it will only be Christ in us that will make the difference.
Fortunately, not one of us is great. Regardless of how sour these words may taste
in your mouth as you read them, it’s true.
I am not great, I am broken, failed and a sinner. I was born into sin and only through baptism
and the sacrifice of Jesus Christ will I see heaven. Reflecting on the Scripture this morning
while I was reading, Jesus said “I am the
gate. Whoever enters by me will be saved
and will come in and go out and find pasture.”
The goal of any Christian is to “find pasture”. It is time to stop looking to see what we can
find in others and think about what others are finding in us!
There is an excellent quote I ran across a few years ago
that I feel describes many of us if only we will admit it to ourselves. The author is unknown, but the message is
profound:
“Yes, I am a
Christian. Yes, I can be the biggest
hypocrite ever. I backslide. I stumble.
I fall. I stray into the wrong
path. But God is working in me. I may be a mess, but I am HIS mess, and He is
slowly straightening me out. And the day
will come when I will be by His side, His work in me completed. Until that day I will take His hand and let
Him do in me whatever must be done, no matter how painful it will be for me.”
If we know what it is to be a Christian, we need to show
what it is to be a Christian. We have a
responsibility as Christians to act as Christians.
Mr. Swann/Principal OLMC