for the non-believers, the die-hard believers, and the ones who just dont know.

"I like your Christ, I do not like your Christians. Your Christians are so unlike your Christ."
Mohandas Gandhi

you may be familiar with this quote. it's a complex quote. one i believe is filled with truth - unfortunately. this post - i hope- will meet you where ever you are at in your life. for the non-believers, the die-hard believers, and the ones who just dont know.

[small disclaimer: these are my thoughts. take them as you wish- or not. your choice]

i am going to tear apart the quote to my best ability and try to put it back together. if you get lost trying to follow, please raise your hand, then look around to see who is looking at you and put it down because i clearly can't answer your questions :)

"I like your Christ"

First off, I am going to pretend that I have no idea who said this. I am going to assume that this quote is annyonmus. i am going to assume that this statement was said by someone who is in the in-betweeny spot of believing in the Lord but doesn't want to be considered a "Christian" quite yet.

so this person, let's call him Bob (unique I know). Bob says to a "Christian" - I like your Christ.

Why? why would Bob like my Christ? because Christ is the purest of pure and the holiest of holies. He is love. pure and simple. He is just. He is forgiving. He is self-less. He is not greedy. He is not boastful. He is not anger. He is not violent.

I would say that I would like that Christ too.

So then Bob continues and says:

"I do not like your Christians".

hold up. what?

Christians are believers in Christ. so if I believe in such an amazing Christ than why would Bob not like me and the rest of my possie that I roll with to church every sunday? (semi gangster - thought you might like it). because it's just that. every sunday. what about monday through saturday? think about it...why would Bob look at Christians and Christianity and not like it?

why? here are some of my thoughts as to why Bob wouldn't like "us".
We are greedy
We sometimes fall into the "sunday Christian" way of life
We judge
We criticize
We are hypocrates
We lie
We cheat
We steal
We kill
We gossip
We are selfish
We are needy
We....
We.......
We............

do you see a pattern? [again, these are typical stereotypes of Christians] so again, why would Bob not like Christ's Christians? probably because Bob looks at us and doesn't see Christ. he can't tell a difference in Christ's Christians and those who just do not believe.

how do we expect to make an impact on others when they look at us, the way we act, the way we talk, the way we treat others..and all they see are the actions of a non-believer. i can understand why non-believers do not want to give in to the "Christian" way of life. Why would they? i can also see how Christians become frustrated with the stereotypes that are out there lingering. they can do and say all the right things, and still not make way with a non-believer. why? probably because of the stereotypes that are out there for Christians! why would they want to be a part of something that has two extreme connotations: loving vs hypocritical. even if youre not, you have to deal with the stereotype of being hypocritical.

[okay disclaimer time... im not saying that all Christians are like this and I am not saying that non-believers are not good people.... which is the point i am trying to make here]

Bob pauses a moment to let you process the first part of his statement. He allows you to catch your breath. and right as you open your mouth to fight your battle he says:

"Your Christians are so unlike your Christ".

well there goes your argument, right out the window. Bob gets up and walks away. he just wants you to ponder his statement. "Your Christians are so unlike your Christ".

Christians are supposed to be examples of Christ. so my question is, if Bob were to follow you around for an entire month with the challenge that at the end of the month he could voluntarily chose to be called a Christian, what would he chose? based on the actions that you made that month, what would he see?

would he chose to walk with you and your Christ or would be have a new opinion of what it is like to be a Christian? you set the example for every person you meet. you never know, you might meet someone that has never experienced love and grace and if you show them that love and grace just that once, it could make a life changing impact.

how would Bob differentiate you, as a Christian, to the person who does not believe or walk in the way of the Lord? the well known statement I think comes into play here too:

actions speak louder than words

actions do speak louder than words in my opinion. as Christians we are always being watched. and we can really speak volumes by not saying anything at all.

now call me crazy, but when was the last time you saw someone preaching on the street...literally? when was the last time you thought that that was an effective way of being of ministry to others? i was at the fair a few weeks ago and a guy had a booth set up preaching and going after people walking by. he was handing out this brochure and small Bibles. in my mind, that is teh biggest turn off for an everyday person.

what about when someone sincerely asks a Christian for help and they jump down their throats criticizing them and saying how awful their decisions were. what about the person who points the finger and says "youre wrong" without even listening. sound familiar? i have had that happen to me. effective way of ministry? not in my book. and I doubt the Lord had that in mind when he told us to be fishers of men.

so now i have to wrap this up because you are about to raise your hand for help [or fall asleep] and i doubt you want to be looked at by others thinking "why does he/she have their hand up right now?"

lets play connect the dots.

1. Bob loves our Christ because he is a self-less, loving, pure, forgiving, holy, just Christ.
2. Bob doesnt like our Christians who are supposed to be representatives of our Christ but we [some of us] are greedy, grudge-holding, hypocratic gossiping "followers" BUT on occasion do a good deed here or there, attend church on sunday, and donate some money to a charity.
3. Bob thinks that our Christians are so unlike our Christ.

Compare 1 and 2. are they the same? no? point made.

if you walk with the Lord, don't you think the Lord would want you to be: self-less, loving, pure and forgiving - just like Him?
put the Christ back in your Christians and maybe more people would want to be like you and be like our Lord.

forgive me if i was harsh. i stated my opinions, you do not have to agree with them.

i will leave you with something slightly more uplifting as that probably felt like a slap in the face.

"faith makes things possible, not easy"

as Christians, our faith makes us stronger. our faith in the Lord makes things possible. no where did the Lord say it would be easy. if anything it's harder because the world is against us. but have faith in the Lord because He is for us.

la ta di da. thats all for now...