Church yesterday was fan-freaking-tastic. The message was called "How Can You Say There's Only One True Religion?" Hello, awesome topic and one that as Christians, we butcher when it is asked of us, usually turning people away from our amazing Creator, due to being a really piss poor representation of our Christ (Brooke translation, my blunt, potty mouthness has no affiliation with the very eloquent version Pastor Ryan gave). ;) However, I'm not really going to talk about that much... if you are interested in the apologetics of the matter, the sermon is on the website hosannalc.org. Just to spark your interest a little though, there is actually no religion that does not claim that their religion is the only one true, right religion. Even religions that claim that all paths lead to the same place, by nature exclude the religions that claim that this is not true. "Even all-inclusive religions end up, excluding the exclusivists." - Ravi Zacharias. Anyways... again... not the point of the post.
What is the point I would assume you're thinking since we're three paragraphs in at this point...my random thoughts really... how can one as a non-Christian (I hate that word, but have a lack of forethought at this time to come up with an alternative) base their opinion of the real thing on really crappy misrepresentations of Him? I hear it all the time, "I had this crazy Christian Aunt," or "This arrogant Pastor I had in middle school," or the loony toons standing on their milk crates condemning us all to hell, "really turned me off from Christianity." I get that and I SINCERELY apologize as a Christian for a lot of the shitty stuff that has been done to people in the name of Christ, but my only thought is, is it fair to base your opinion on a really crappy representation of Him? Pastor Ryan said that's like having the generic brand of mac and cheese and then saying you don't like mac and cheese. No way! If you didn't have Kraft, you didn't even have mac and cheese. ;) Bring on the Kraft haters, Velveeta has nothing on my beloved powdered cheese goodness. :) That however is then more the responsibility of those of us that do call ourselves followers of Christ to be good examples of Him. To not turn people away from our incredible Father by being that someone who somebody could say "I knew this girl Brooke one time and if that's what being a Christian is all about... I am not interested." Don't let Gandhi's painfully accurate quote ring true for your life..."It's just that so many of your Christians are so unlike your Christ." My challenge to those who have had bad encounters with poor representations of Him... go straight to the source. With an open mind seek His face in His word and I would hope that you wouldn't be disappointed. <3
They played a song by John Meyer that I previously loved, but now even more so.
"Is there anyone who ever remembers changing their mind from the paint on a sign? Is there anyone who really recalls ever breaking rank at all for something someone yelled real loud one time?" "Belief is a beautiful armor but makes for the heaviest sword, like punching under water, you can never hit who you're trying for." "We're never gonna win the world, we're never gonna stop the war, we're never gonna beat this if belief is what we're fighting for." Pretty sure John Mayer really didn't have this meaning in mind when he wrote the song (I could be dead wrong, I am on a regular basis), however I think that it speaks volume to us as Christians. We're never going to win the world if what we're trying to do is make converts and our goal is belief. When was the last time someone entered the kingdom because they were successfully argued into belief? I'm sure it's happened, but not as often as people have been turned off because of it.
So what does work? Why does it work for me, and evidence of changed lives. Why does Christianity work for me? It's the most inclusive religion that I am aware of. There is no one that is ineligible for the invitation. Nothing that you have done in the past, or who you still currently are makes you ineligible for Christ's love. He doesn't love us because we're good enough or worthy enough, He loves us because HE is great. Therefore we don't have the burden of earning His love. All we have to do is ask.
Every religion has some form of the Golden Rule, however Christianity takes it one step further then that. It asks us not only to treat people as we would like to be treated, but better... treat people better than yourself. Philipians 2:1-7 says "Therefore if you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any common sharing in the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and of one mind. Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others. In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness." If our Savior who had every right to feel like he was to be served, you know being the Savior of the world and all, made himself fully human and humbled himself to wash the feet of others in order to honor, love and respect them, how freaking more so should we? As Christians we're to consider others better then ourselves, not just how we would want to be treated. And not better then ourselves in some sort of dysfunctional, self-deprecating way, in the "I love you and want to put your wants and desires above mine because of that, regardless if you deserve it or not," type of way. Do I say this because I live like this? Heck no! I try to, and yeah I totally nail it sometimes, but most of the time, I fail hardcore in a puddle of my selfish ways.
Third reason why I think that it works for me is that God comes to us! A lot of the other religions that I am aware of, there is some form of hierarchy where we have to be good enough to get to the next level or to reach that pinnacle of Heaven, whatever it is called. However Christianity isn't like that. God does for us what we could never do for ourselves.
However, it's not a bunch of theology about why it works that convinced me that I wanted to have a relationship with this foreign man in the sky... it was the evidence of changed lives. It's the people that I knew that had given their lives to Him and He had made beauty where pain had once been. For me, this is beyond accurate. I have gone though different stages with Him, usually having to do with my personal level of resistance or obedience to Him, where He has slowly taken the once hugely broken areas of my life and replaced it with freedom, love and joy.
So what? All that's great Brooke, why do I care, what's the point? Pastor Ryan challenged us to a "Better Than" challenge this week. How will you express Philippians 2:3, "Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves," this week in your life? What does that mean? It means doing something for someone that is unexpected, undeserved and unattached. Unexpected meaning outside of what is normally expected of you and the obvious, something they are not expecting, undeserved is pretty self explanatory and probably the hardest for me. It's easy to do kind things for someone when you feel really loving towards them and want to express that to them, but it's a shining example of Christ's amazing love when you'd really rather not talk to them, rip their head off or put them in their place, but instead be gracious, and unattached meaning that you expect nothing in return. The two examples that I can think of "better than" moments are my dear friend Joey who shared with me a time when she had EVERY RIGHT to tell someone off, to tell them how wrong they were, how they had hurt her and how they really had to change. However, she knew their heart and knew they were hurting and she chose to take the most humble approach ever and unconditionally loved that person. She didn't shame their choices, she didn't say I told you so, she took herself out of the superior role and not only did she forgive them, she served them! Really quite beautiful. The other example that I think of is one of my co-workers... I am kind of a bear to work with sometimes. I'm crabby at times, I'm easily irritated and all around super awesome to be around. He always is making me laugh, showing me my ridiculousness in ways that he knows wont produce my defensiveness and then has the audacity to serve me when I am being a demanding bitch.
So yeah... there you have it... I want to know, how will you serve someone unexpectedly, who is undeserving and do it without attachment? If you have done so, what did you do? What was their reaction? Other discussion topics that were raised... why does Christianity work (or not) for you?
