Radical Christianity
I believe that true Christianity is a radical concept! In the words of G. K. Chesterton, a British author and Roman Catholic, "The Christian ideal has not been tried and found wanting. It has been found difficult; and left untried." We expend great effort in defending our faith against the evils of the day, as we perceive them. And after we have denounced the villiany of a culture gone mad, we return, self-satisfied and self-righteous, to our own lives which, by the standards of our Lord, can scarcely be called Christian. Now please don't misunderstand me. I am not saying that no one can speak out on moral issues unless they are, themselves, leading lives of sinless perfection. But I do believe that if our first concern were our own behavior before God, than our voices would carry more moral authority.
When we say we are "pro-life" (as though anyone disagreeing with us were, by definition, "anti-life"), are we consitently "pro-life"? Do we truly care as much about the woman in crisis as we do about the unborn life within her? Or does our support end at the delivery room, careless of anything that has happended before, or happens after? And how far does our "pro-life" position extend? Do we support capital punishment? If so, do we consider the danger of our current legal system, with its "all the justice you can afford" maxim? Do we lie awake at nights out of our concern about the mis-application of capital punishment, and the execution of an innocent person? Or do we satisfy ourselves that, whatever the outcome, at least our penal system has has one less mouth to feed? Do we wrestle with the concept of a "just war", cognizant of the horrors of war and its vast toll, even upon non-combatants? Is war, for us, a final act of desperation, a last resort when all else fails? Or do we consider war merely a tool of diplomacy, a game of one-upsmanship statesmanship?
Don't get me wrong. I'm not advocating that we all put on sandals, tie-dyed clothes, love beads and peace symbols and "tune in, turn on, and drop out" while playing the guitar and singing "Kum By Yah". But somewhere within our Christian consciousness, these issues should wrench at our gut, and send us to our knees, in fear that God may choose to hold us to our own slogans. In the Bible, James (James 1:27) writes, "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." Do we defend the weak and powerless, or do we merely strive to be one of the powerful? Do we care for the poor, or do we hold to a "health and wealth" gospel that treats poverty like a flaw in faith or character? Do we strive to outdo one another in generosity, or do we lay up treasure for ourselves?
Jesus set before us two characteristics of the church, by which the watching world is justified in judging the reality of our gospel. They are simple, yet profound. In John 13:34-35, Jesus said, "A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another." And how does he define this "love"? Again he says in John 15:12-14, "My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends. You are my friends if you do what I command." Are we friends to Jesus and to each other? Can the world look at us, and say with conviction, "See how they love one another."? The second characteristic is found in Jesus prayer to his Father. In John 17:20-21, Jesus, praying for those who will believe in him through the message of the disciples, says, "My prayer is not for them [the disciples] alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me." Self-sacrificial love (on which hangs all the Law and the Prophets), and unity—these traits identify us before the watching world as Christians, and speak to the reality of Jesus' claim to be the Son of God and Messiah. This is the weight of glory laid on our shoulders. God forgive us if it is a cross we are unwilling to bear.
When we say we are "pro-life" (as though anyone disagreeing with us were, by definition, "anti-life"), are we consitently "pro-life"? Do we truly care as much about the woman in crisis as we do about the unborn life within her? Or does our support end at the delivery room, careless of anything that has happended before, or happens after? And how far does our "pro-life" position extend? Do we support capital punishment? If so, do we consider the danger of our current legal system, with its "all the justice you can afford" maxim? Do we lie awake at nights out of our concern about the mis-application of capital punishment, and the execution of an innocent person? Or do we satisfy ourselves that, whatever the outcome, at least our penal system has has one less mouth to feed? Do we wrestle with the concept of a "just war", cognizant of the horrors of war and its vast toll, even upon non-combatants? Is war, for us, a final act of desperation, a last resort when all else fails? Or do we consider war merely a tool of diplomacy, a game of one-upsmanship statesmanship?
Don't get me wrong. I'm not advocating that we all put on sandals, tie-dyed clothes, love beads and peace symbols and "tune in, turn on, and drop out" while playing the guitar and singing "Kum By Yah". But somewhere within our Christian consciousness, these issues should wrench at our gut, and send us to our knees, in fear that God may choose to hold us to our own slogans. In the Bible, James (James 1:27) writes, "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." Do we defend the weak and powerless, or do we merely strive to be one of the powerful? Do we care for the poor, or do we hold to a "health and wealth" gospel that treats poverty like a flaw in faith or character? Do we strive to outdo one another in generosity, or do we lay up treasure for ourselves?
Jesus set before us two characteristics of the church, by which the watching world is justified in judging the reality of our gospel. They are simple, yet profound. In John 13:34-35, Jesus said, "A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another." And how does he define this "love"? Again he says in John 15:12-14, "My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends. You are my friends if you do what I command." Are we friends to Jesus and to each other? Can the world look at us, and say with conviction, "See how they love one another."? The second characteristic is found in Jesus prayer to his Father. In John 17:20-21, Jesus, praying for those who will believe in him through the message of the disciples, says, "My prayer is not for them [the disciples] alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me." Self-sacrificial love (on which hangs all the Law and the Prophets), and unity—these traits identify us before the watching world as Christians, and speak to the reality of Jesus' claim to be the Son of God and Messiah. This is the weight of glory laid on our shoulders. God forgive us if it is a cross we are unwilling to bear.
posted by Soulfyre | 1:00 AM
1 Comments:
I know this is a somewhat old post, but I'm assuming it still applies. I totally agree with your musings about our responsibilities as Christians. Unfortunately, we are all a work in progress. As Lazarus needed to be unwrapped by his friends, we are all undergoing a process of "unwrapping." It is just such a tragedy that as we go through that unwrapping process, unbelievers are watching us and making judgments about who Christ is rather than who we are. That's the real message I'd like to send to the world: Please don't judge Him Who is perfect by watching us who are not, and will never be. Thanks for the thought-provoking post.
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