Do you ever stop to look around at today’s Christian culture and wonder why anyone who is not a believer would ever want to be part of it? We seem to have developed a whole sub-culture of Christian music, Christian schools, Christian stores, Christian concerts, Christian conferences, Christian retreats, Christian jewelry, Christian magazines, Christian books, Christian television, Christian radio, Christian movies, etc., etc., etc. We have surrounded ourselves with all things Christian. We are slowly creating an environment that minimizes our interaction with people who are not yet followers of Christ. Why? Why would we want to do that if we are really trying to become more like Christ? Did He spend all His time in the synagogues teaching religious people, or did he go through the countryside, ministering to people and showing them genuine love? Did He not go to the rejects of society and offer hope? Did He not spend His short life on earth teaching that Christianity is not about who WE are, but about who HE is?
“We need inspiration! We need training! We need encouragement!” Christian people clamor. Yes, we do, but for what purpose? What are we doing with our fresh inspiration, our expert training and our motivating encouragement? Talking about it with our Christian friends? Savoring the way it makes us feel? Thanking God for the experience? Are we really trying to provide opportunities for people to find Jesus or are we instead looking for ways to “protect” ourselves from evil and experience a spiritual “high”? Does the church offer what we need to help us be on the offensive as we go out into the world, or does it encourage us to “circle the wagons” as if we were trying to keep out the enemy?
Jesus went on the offensive against the enemy, defeating him at every turn. If His Spirit lives in us, do we have any reason to fear evil?
No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans 8:37-39, NIV).
If Jesus were to return to earth today, would He would make a tour of churches telling Christians, “Well done, you have been my salt and light in the world!” (Matthew 5:13) or would He look around at the neglected, hurting people of our world and say to us, “What have you done to share my Good News with these lost children of mine?”
The Christian environment we have created can serve to provide Christians with the tools they need to go out into the world and share Christ. Instead, our inclination seems to be to savor those experiences, to talk about them, or even debate them. We may protest what we are taught or give our support, depending on whether the teaching aligns with our understanding of scripture. We organize groups to rally behind our beliefs to “show the world” our collective voice. These are not necessarily bad pursuits if our motives are to create an environment that will show the love of Christ. However I fear that many times, while we are engaged in our passionate pursuit of making a point, people all around us are dying without Jesus and we are too busy to notice.
The people of this world don’t care whether we wear a cross around our neck. They don’t care that we can sing all the words to the songs on the Christian radio station. They don’t care that our t-shirt has a picture of nail-scarred hands or a catchy Christian phrase. They don’t even care that we can pray for hours and quote scripture. What they care about is whether we care about them. Are we willing to step out of our comfortable Christian environment and step into their world? Do we care enough to show love and kindness and forgiveness to the unlovely, the mean-spirited and the hateful?
For in Christ, neither our most conscientious religion nor disregard of religion amounts to anything. What matters is something far more interior: faith expressed in love. (Galatians 5:6, The Message)
Christians hold a precious gift that has been offered to all men – eternal life. Yet so often we hoard that gift as if it were ours to keep. Christ compels us to move out of our pews and into the streets. He commands us to stop “playing church” and “go into all the world” (Matthew 28:19-20). When we go to a Christian conference, do we take what we’ve learned and use it to build His Kingdom, or do we simply sign up for the next one “because it was so inspiring?” Does Christian music move you to compassion for your neighbor whose dog barks all night, or does it just drown out the noise and help you deal with your anger? Do the scriptures you quote come from a heart of love or condemnation? Should we not take to heart these words of Paul in Colossians?
24-25 I want you to know how glad I am that it's me sitting here in this jail and not you. There's a lot of suffering to be entered into in this world—the kind of suffering Christ takes on. I welcome the chance to take my share in the church's part of that suffering. When I became a servant in this church, I experienced this suffering as a sheer gift, God's way of helping me serve you, laying out the whole truth.
26-29This mystery has been kept in the dark for a long time, but now it's out in the open. God wanted everyone, not just Jews, to know this rich and glorious secret inside and out, regardless of their background, regardless of their religious standing. The mystery in a nutshell is just this: Christ is in you, so therefore you can look forward to sharing in God's glory. It's that simple. That is the substance of our Message. We preach Christ, warning people not to add to the Message. We teach in a spirit of profound common sense so that we can bring each person to maturity. To be mature is to be basic. Christ! No more, no less. That's what I'm working so hard at day after day, year after year, doing my best with the energy God so generously gives me. (Colossians 1:24-29, The Message)
The Church seems to be evolving into a place where those who don’t know Christ don’t feel welcome. Is that what He had in mind? The Church is Christ’s Body – a body that was broken for all men (1 Corinthians 10:15-17). As members of that broken body, we are compelled to make The Church a place where all men can find forgiveness, hope and salvation. The church must be a place that welcomes the lost and sends out the saved.
Perhaps those of us who call ourselves followers of Christ could strive to be worthy of these words Paul wrote to the Thessalonians in chapter one, verse 3 (NIV),
We continually remember before our God and Father your work produced by faith, your labor prompted by love, and your endurance inspired by hope in our Lord Jesus Christ.
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