When we introduce ourselves for the first time, we divulge a limited amount of information: name and, perhaps, something about a mutual friend. However, as the relationship develops we release more and more information. Most of it is clear and unambiguous - you know the kind of thing: where one works, where we went to school, hobbies, interests, even hopes and dreams.
The problems seem to arise when we want to share what we believe. If you are a Muslim, your dress code may give you away. If one is a Roman Catholic, the crucifix may act as a giveaway. But how does a true Christian introduce himself or herself?
“I am a Christian” can mean so many things: I am a Christian because I was not born into a Jewish family. I am a Christian because I am not a Muslim. I am a Christian because you have to fill something in on those wretched forms.
What does being a Christian actually mean? More to the point, what do we or should we mean when we declare our commitment to Jesus Christ?
What does the ordinary person think when they hear that one is a Christian? “She must be a churchgoer”, “Oh no, a Bible basher”, “Here comes Mr. No-Fun”. Alternatively, things can get worse: “Another hypocrite”.
The term ‘Christian’ can mean different things to many people. How do we effectively communicate who we are without, as far as possible, sending an ambiguous message? Remember, we are speaking about the things we say, not the way we act. Our actions will be judged over time but what we say can draw an immediate reaction. As the old saying goes, “You only have one chance to make a first impression.”
Therefore, it would seem that the term ‘Christian’ is a catch-all for everything that is not Jewish, Muslim, Hindu, Buddhist or any other religious belief. If so, then it is not enough to say, “I am a Christian” and expect a response that may offer some fruit-bearing potential.
I can hear the anonymous voice bleating, “But the Bible describes us as Christians.” It does? I thought it was the sinners at Antioch who first called the believers ‘Christians’. Including that occurrence, the term is only used three times: once by a pagan king, once by a pagan population and once by Peter – that hardly qualifies as the criteria necessary for a description.
Please do not misunderstand; I am not ashamed of being a Christian because I know what I mean by the term. I am not ashamed of Christianity, either, because I know what I mean. However, those who are lost in their sin do not have my understanding. They are 21st Century people brought up on a diet of “Religion causes war”, “Christianity is a religion of sects in conflict with one another”, etc.
The 21st Century world declares that it was Christianity that went to war in the so-called Crusades. In fact, it was not a Christian endeavour at all but was instigated by the satanically-motivated Pope Urban (Roman Catholic) who was one among a number who incited violence in the Middle East. The Crusades were not Christian; they were a Papist-underwritten conflict fuelled by misguided religion, bigotry and hatred.
So, how are we to react? We must continue to practise our ancient faith with all the vigour we can muster, but, at the same time, employ a language that this new world can grasp.
When all is said and done, men and women of all backgrounds want one thing. That is relationship. Whether the sinner likes to admit it or not, we are all created in the image of God. That image is, about one thing: relationship, as in the perfect relationship between the Three in the Triune Godhead.
Our language then must be one of relationship. So perhaps the key to effective communication is not the use of a label, but the description of a relationship. When our relationship with the Christ lifestyle is observed, perhaps then the hungry and the thirsty will believe that the Christianity of the Bible really does have something to offer them.
Jesus came to this earth to, among other things, help us to understand God by showing us the Father’s character through His daily interaction with the disciples and the general populace of the region. In showing us God, we see Jesus relating to His friends and they, in turn, responding to Him. The three and a half years they spent together was marked by open, honest two-way relationship. That relationship manifested itself through conversation, teaching, disagreements, meals together, tears shed, mistakes made, service, and forgiveness offered and given. Was the three and a half year sojourn undertaken only as a means of getting to the Cross, as vital as that was? Was the run-up to Calvary also a vital and an integral part of God’s self-revelation designed and revealed so that we might interact with Him freely?
Who am I? What do I believe? For me, the answer is simple: I am a disciple of Jesus Christ.
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Paul too asked himself, “Who am I?” (1 Corinthians 3:5 NKJV) and one of his responses was, “I no longer live, but Christ lives in me” (Galatians 2:20) which gives a vastly different emphasis to the question’s significance. He goes on to say that “the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith OF the Son of God” (KJV), not “by [my] faith IN the Son of God” as most modern Bibles translate this verse. When born-again believers understand that the relationship which Christ has with us is wholly dependent on Him living in us, any ambiguity that the world sees in the Christian message loses its impact. This will only happen when we realize that Biblical Christianity is not so much about a “relationship with the Christ lifestyle” as it is the grace-filled love affair that God in Christ is having with us, a passion brought about by Christ giving His faith to us. The hungry and the thirsty need to know that Christianity places believers into Christ in such a powerful way that if every Christian comprehended it, we would not have a problem “practising our (Christ’s) faith with all the vigour we can muster”, particularly as Christ is not going BEFORE us when we walk in His faith – He is IN us. It is the Cross and the subsequent new life it produces that are vital and integral – both entirely initiated by God’s grace and entirely sustained by Christ in us, requiring nothing more than that we “believe in the Lord Jesus” (Acts 16:31). Everything that we do after that is simply a love response in which we do not struggle and pray for more faith but instead we draw on the inexhaustible supply that is already ours by having Christ’s life and faith in us. Who am I? Paul answers again, “You have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God...who is our life” (Colossians 3: 3,4).
ReplyDelete"Well said" to both Alan and Adrian!
ReplyDeleteMargaret Thatcher is quoted as having said; "Being powerful is like being a lady. If you have to tell people you are, you're not."
To me my being a "Christian" is much the same thing. I cannot go around telling people “I’m a Christian” and then pat myself on the back for making a stand for my Savior. All I have done is draw attention to myself which based on others perception can be either negative or positive but over which I have no control and very often may never have a chance to shape into a positive view.
Declaring my “status” is not key to my faith – in reading the Word I see commands to love, to share the good news and ultimately I receive the assurance that within this framework people will come to know that I am a disciple of Jesus.
To bring this into every day life, Social Media is all about sharing with your friends something that has worked for you – its time the church stopped declaring WHAT it is and focused on sharing WHO it has received and what a magnificent change He has made in our lives. Then people won’t care about the label but will fall in love with the Savior.