An astute observation by an Atheist. He was apparently dumfounded by the good works and self-sacrificing ways of the Christian.
What does the Church say (under their breath) about this observation? “Well I should hope so…” “We have to be like Christ in this world so that we fulfill our obligation and our duty to God. It is who we are called to be.”
Really? Is that really the response that we’re all comfortable with? When I heard this story being told by a Christian, and then saying that response to the Church, part of me wanted to retch at the sheer pride of the underlying attitude and superiority shown by the person who is described as, “Like Christ.”
If given the privilege, here was my response to this that I wanted to shout outloud:
If it is one thing we should get straight, as sinners who have been “Saved by Christ,” it is not that we have a moral superiority. It is actually that we have One who loves us IN SPITE of being morally INFERIOR. Romans 2:4. His loving kindness He showed to us instilled in us joy, and we respond to this joy, loving Him back by loving the least of His loved ones. Atheists respond as that man did when they see the outpouring of unconditional love. Why? It is because that is the love of Jesus. It comes from a source apart from us. It does not start coming natural to us once we hear enough sermons. It is having Him. Without Jesus in us, unconditionally loving the “unlovable” is impossible.
The Christian who is unrepentant has not yet found the love that comes with intimacy with Jesus. It alone transforms the sinful heart. We are able to love because He loved. We are able to die to our sinfulness because He died for us. Because of His love. Nothing good exists apart from Jesus.
Yet we rob the world of knowing the honest truth: that all glory, honor, and praise belong to Him, and Him alone. “In Christ Alone…This Conerstone, this sold ground…Here in the LOVE OF CHRIST I stand.” All other ground is sinking sand, but we stand on the goodness and love of Christ...alone. It is His goodness that the sinners (that we are) respond to. The world does not know, and therefore can’t understand, the phenomenon of His Amazing Love.
Who are we to take the Goodness of Jesus Christ and give ANY kind of credit to us. “Well we know better, because we were raised right.” Christians were taught “a better way”. Yet there is no better unless it begins and ends with who Christ is in you. We Christians needed saving just like that worldly sinner does in that moment. We are therefore, in every way, no better than them. We just know the Truth: that He loves us. I mean, He REALLY loves us. Through Christ’s love, that there is no one that is beyond saving. No one is unfit for the Kingdom. He can change anyone. With God, nothing is impossible. When we were first saved, we were all examples of that! His love surpasses all human understanding. How can we understand the mercy that the ugliest, meanest, most cruel human beings, He simply waits for them to come to Him, so He can embrace them and welcome them into His arms...Where they belong.
Crazy Love isn’t it? Do we believe His Amazing Grace? Have we forgotten to give Him the glory for showing us such undeserved forgiveness and compassion?
Anytime we fail to acknowledge our own powerlessness, or our sin, we steal the Glory that belongs to Him. We’re “Glory Hogs”. To Christ alone belongs the Glory, Honor, and Praise!
So I request of Him to hear this prayer for each of us, “Have mercy on us sinners, O Lord. You are Love. Reveal to us your goodness and let us see our sinfulness. Help us to acknowledge all of our sinfulness, and by your mercy, forgive us. We give all glory and honor to you. Not to us Lord, but to your Name be the glory. No, Lord. Never to us. But to you, Lord. All to You. Your Name alone deserves to be praised. Now and forevermore. Amen.
Hey Nathan,
ReplyDeleteAs I read this letter, I thought of the one word that really hit me in the "Church" response. It was the word obligation. It is so true that many people have felt that way, and I'm sure both of us have probably felt that before. Now, we see it for what it is. Spreading God's love may seem like an obligation to some Christians, because they haven't made it to that stage of completeness as a result of being Christ's slave. That's right s-l-a-v-e. (When you realize the magnitude of God and the fact that 'inferior' is just not good enough of a word to express how low we are.) Yet, Christ decided to raise us out of that pit. As humans/Americans, we always want to prove we are enough. We deserve the good in life and love. We blind ourselves to the reality that NOTHING IS GOOD ENOUGH. We can't prove ourselves. As a child making all of the wrong decisions as a struggling Christian, I think about how wrong my perception of life in Christ was initially. I shake my head as I reflect on words and actions I chose. Now, I realize how selfish and annoying I can be. It's a way of thinking, "Wow, God really needed to humble me."
*Point is*....We know how ugly we are inside without Christ. He just shows us how he can use us once we realize how rotten we are to the core. That's when he releases our inner butterfly. (Yes, I went there!) The people the Atheist was referring to are those who realize how disgusting they are, but allow Christ to transform them into his slaves. I can say the word slave may seem brash, but knowing what I do about myself, I'm happy for that. My Grandma is at like Ninja Master level. I still feel like a novice. :D There's my ramble. Sorry.