I’ve been tossing this around for a few days now…
Kind of irritated and kind of feeling pity for the intolerance.
In the past year or so, my blog has become decidedly more Christian than it had been before.
This is because I have become decidedly more Christian than I was before.
I should note that I don’t really think you can become more Christian…. It’s kind of like pregnant.
You just are or you aren’t.
BUT.
I do think that you can go through the motions, have a ‘fire insurance’ sort of faith. You believe, but it’s not really a driving force in your life. You put up a good front. Show up at the right places. Say the right things.
But you don’t understand the power of what has been done for you. The love, mercy, and redemption available to you as a gift.
A sweet and precious gift.
That was me.
SO me.
I professed with my mouth, but my heart was far away.
The past two years have been transformational for me. God has laid out these stepping stones for me and, I’ve had just enough courage to step out onto them.
And He has been doing a good work in me. A layer-peeling, gut-wrenching, sin-crushing work in me.
It makes me want to shout from the rooftops about how good He is! How loving! Merciful! Compassionate!
So of course I’m going to blog about it. I honestly can’t help myself.
It’s not that I feel like I HAVE TO write about my faith.
It’s that I GET TO write about my faith.
And I guess the thing that bugs me is the snark.
Because If I was a Buddhist I don’t think people would have a problem with my faith.
I honestly believe they would think I was wonderfully spiritual and zen. That I was focused and balanced and in-tune with myself and the world.
But because I’m a Christian and I happen to love Jesus, I’m seen as intolerant.
What is UP with that?
I love and follow a God-man who walked this earth more than 2,000 years ago and made such an impression that people are STILL getting worked up about Him all this time later.
He epitomized love and mercy. He went out of his way to encounter an adulterous woman, He accepted the corrupt tax collector, and He embraced society’s underdogs.
YET, when I choose to devote my life to Him and process through it on the blog sometimes, I’m somehow offensive.
Relishing in what I believe somehow threatens those who don’t believe?
How does that work?
I just don’t get it.
You’re allowed to be whatever you want to be these days as long as it’s not a Christian.
Why is that??
Great post.
I loved how you put it- “I GET to write about my faith.”
Christ shows us grace so that we can show grace. We’re blessed so we can be a blessing. And you are a blessing to me! =)
YES YES YES. This is so true and exactly how I feel. Thank you for composing my thoughts!
Amen, sister.
I believe part of the backlash on Christianity is a result of some evil leaders who attempted to hijack it for their own worldly benefit.
Also, Christians do a poor job selling their faith. It comes across as intolerant because, well, it is.
Even more so Christians are terrible at arguing why they believe. Just simply saying I believe because the bible says so will not win any “intellictual” arguments. Our current society wants science to prove Gods existence when they have set up all the premises to direct a person to the conclusion He does not exist.
Lastly, the anti-Christian movement is Emo in the sense they want to discredit and argue based on emotional rhetoric. For instance, and intelligent person would conclude that science has proven ….. Blah. By associating intelligence with belief they establish that faith can not be part of the argument and in fact is anti-intelligent. Not too long ago, faith based philosophies where a sign of intelligence.
Christians must not defend what they believe as much as live what He taught us. It is by our steady devotion to truth that our faith will be defended and not by us but by Him.
I pray for those who ridicule and mock my faith. It is they whom God seeks.
Just some rambling thoughts.
This was such a great comment, Robert. Thank you. I especially loved this part, “Christians must not defend what they believe as much as live what He taught us. It is by our steady devotion to truth that our faith will be defended and not by us but by Him.”
Amen.
“If the world hates you, remember that it hated me first. The world would love you as one of its own if you belonged to it, but you are no longer part of the world. I chose you to come out of the world, so it hates you. Do you remember what I told you? ‘A slave is not greater than the master.’ Since they persecuted me, naturally they will persecute you. And if they had listened to me, they would listen to you. They will do all this to you because of me, for they have rejected the one who sent me.” (John 15: 18-21)
And my favorite part: “This fulfills what is written in their Scriptures: ‘They hated me without cause.’(v. 25)
Every word of Scripture MUST be fulfilled and then He will come and make all things right. Take comfort in that. It’s true. It’s sure. It’s soon.
SO GOOD. And a perfect reminder.
I honestly wrote this post in a critical spirit and felt unsettled about it for the rest of the day. It was me being passive aggressive and just as wrong as those I was pointing at. Ugh.
Lord Jesus have mercy on me, a sinner.