Christianity is challenging
How's that for profound?
It can be so challenging to see how Christians argue with each other over so many issues & questions. Some are important, some are important only to some. Scriptural interpretation drives many of the arguments. Folks use proof texts to refute proof texts. And those we are called to reach watch to see something they want no part of. In trying to define/refine the cause of Christ we kill it.
I guess this is just how it's going to be. It has been for most of the 2000 years since Jesus left.
So often, it seems, we try to work from a position of knowledge rather than a position of faith. And we get confused. Am I to be humble or bold? Am I a servant or a leader? Our interpretations of scripture end up wrestling with a lot of false dichotomies.
So often we pray for "clarity" but I never see Jesus asking for clarity. A lot of his teachings are SERIOUSLY LACKING in the clarity department.
Lord, grant us your Spirit to lead, and grant us a deep awareness of our need to follow.
It can be so challenging to see how Christians argue with each other over so many issues & questions. Some are important, some are important only to some. Scriptural interpretation drives many of the arguments. Folks use proof texts to refute proof texts. And those we are called to reach watch to see something they want no part of. In trying to define/refine the cause of Christ we kill it.
I guess this is just how it's going to be. It has been for most of the 2000 years since Jesus left.
So often, it seems, we try to work from a position of knowledge rather than a position of faith. And we get confused. Am I to be humble or bold? Am I a servant or a leader? Our interpretations of scripture end up wrestling with a lot of false dichotomies.
So often we pray for "clarity" but I never see Jesus asking for clarity. A lot of his teachings are SERIOUSLY LACKING in the clarity department.
Lord, grant us your Spirit to lead, and grant us a deep awareness of our need to follow.
posted by MichaelPolutta at 9:03 AM
3 Comments:
I think even if it were crystal clear, we would still find ways to mess it up because of our broken nature. As it is, I think it is part of His plan to have us wrestle with our faith. It just stinks when, in doing that, we end up wrestling with each other. I am just SO GLAD that God gives us grace and mercy because every single one of us needs it. Even if I have all of the correct knowledge and interpret the Bible exactly right, my spirit could still be wrong. Thank God that He is in charge and I am not...
I like what CS Lewis wrote in Mere Christianity--there are some arguments which ought to be had among Christians, but only in an atmosphere of mutual love and respect, and never in front of those who are not Christians. The mental exercise of trying to "be Berean" and the give-and-take that entails with other Christians is very enjoyable, and need not cause bad blood. But like so many other things in this fallen world, there are always those who take a good thing too far. If we were to be as strict about "dissensions" and "wrangling over words" (which are explicitly condemned in scripture) as we are about some other issues that we humans have made up (like teetotaling and worship styles), we'd have a much different witness to the world.
ok.. grab a cup of coffee. you may want to grab this and print it to read... it's gonna be fun.
Well, there's that line we must walk. In fact, i think you hit it in another post... being Right vs. being Kind. Basically we must come to know what the truth is. We've must develop a familiarity with the Character & Nature of the Most High in such a manner that we know it when we see it and display it on instinct.
Not to sound churchy, but ole S'Paul said it something like: I GOSTA know the Messiah! I want to experience the power of his Resurrection & to experience the personal agony of his suffering, heartache & anguish over man's sin. I want to be like the Holy One of Israel so much that his sacrifice can be seen in my life! (ok... it's a radical paraphrase of Phil 3: 10). But if Being like Christ is something we're aiming for, then why not use his manner of bold-humility as our purpose statement?
Let me explain... no. there is too much... let me sum up... Think about a Jewish Carpenter turned Rabbi walking with a HUGE crowd of people down a country road (kinda like the James Taylor song). As they near a city area, there's this small, unsavory creature hanging from a tree like a christmas ornament just so he can see this Yeshua everyone has been talking about. Of course Zack doesn't see anything extraordinary. Just another jew. But there's something magnetic about him. Unfortunately, Zacchaeus doesn't suffer from the same popularity or charisma!
This miserable man is known to everyone as the town crook. I picture him as Vizini from The Princess Bride... So we see the boldness of our Example by his ability to walk up to this unwanted man and invite himself over for dinner. Now we've got to understand how important hospitality was in this century! Think about inviting yourself over to the home of the person in church that everyone else avoids! That's bold. That's different. That's amazingly humble! Being ranked with the unsavory – the sinner.
What happens? The Maker of all things extends spiritual friendship to the one person that EVERYONE in town knows better than to talk to! JC doesn't duck down the hallway to avoid an annoyance, but he goes into the break room with the office rat! Jesus is more concerned with the welfare of this urchin than his own credentials. In fact, he doesn't even consider his illustrious title something worth displaying when it comes to this unloved man.
So where is Boldness more appropriately displayed? The finger-wagging, self-righteous pew-warmer? The guy who can spout the standard assertions of our liturgy? If so, that's diametrically opposed to the position taken by the Creator. The ones who heard most about hell & judgement were the sunday regulars. But it was the despised drunk that got a shoulder rather than a sermon. The local crook was invited to dinner & a town whore was welcomed by the man who could calm storms. That's bold. When was the last time our pretty buildings were made to welcome those who don't bathe? When did our clean carpets become more important than muddy feet?
You're right. Christianity is a Challenge to those who have substituted Church with the Christ we proclaim to follow. Remember: the church is simply a prostitute who became a bride (Read Hosea). But the prostitute put on clean clothes and forgot those in the streets where she used to roam.
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