I Can't See Christ For All the Christians

What do you say to the quote to the right?

Fact is, among the top reasons people give for not accepting Christ into their lives - or at least considering it - is "Christian Hypocrisy".  

Unfortunately - even as a Christian - I agree with Gandhi on this.  It seems clear to me, at least in America, that we "Christians" aren't very Christlike much of the time.  We are called to draw people to Christ with our love, but more often we drive them away from Christ.

In this blog, I'd like to speak to two audiences:  (1) Non-Christians with a bad taste in their mouth about Jesus based on experiences with "Christians" and (2) "Christians" who aren't following Christ's lead.

Notice I use quotations around the word "Christian"?  I too have quotations around my Christianity more often than I'd like to admit.  I can do better - I know.

To non-Christians:  I understand.  But I ask that you look at Christ, not his far-from-perfect followers.  The Christian faith is not a museum of saints, but more like a hospital with a lot of sick people who are getting better (but are still very sick).  Christians are humans just like you.  They are flawed, sometimes quite unlikeable humans.  But that is part of why they are Christians ... they realize that they are flawed and know that this state of being is not right, nor is it pleasing to anyone, especially God.  By accepting Jesus into their lives, they are admitting they can't do it alone.  They are admitting that they need saving.  Even Mother Theresa said she was a sinner.  So if that incredible woman is a sinner, where does that leave me?  Am I good?  No.  "... for all have sinned and fallen short ..." (Romans 3:23).  ALL - bar none.  If you believe you have not, ask yourself, "By what (or whose) measuring stick are you coming to that conclusion?"  For instance, by worldly standards, most would say I am a very good person.  But that's a subjective measuring stick.  The only objective measuring stick is God's definition of "good".  I don't say this to make you (or me) feel bad ... we're all in that boat.  So, some so-called Christian did you wrong, or simply rubbed you the wrong way?  Please, don't judge Christ by that Christian.  See the forest for the trees - that's all I ask.

I care deeply for you - so does God.  After having done the research and followed it to it's logical conclusion, I know it's true, but I can't debate you into it.  It must be a personal choice to seek the Truth.  But if you seek, you shall find.  I'll guarantee that.

To "Christians":

"Christians are the light for everyone else, for the whole world. If we are Christians, we must look like Christ. We must be like Him." -- Mother Teresa 

We will always fall short, but we must persevere, becoming more and more Christ-like everyday knowing we will never reach that pinnacle in this lifetime.  Too many of us do things that are quite unChrist-like:  We judge, we condescend, we show our obvious love for money and not God, we withhold compassion, we don't give when we really could give ... heck, many of us don't look any different from non-Christians.  In fact, in some cases, some non-Christians live lives that are considerably more Christ-like.   We're asked to stand out - to have God's love shining from us.  Most importantly, we must draw people to Christ through our love.  Are you loving people unconditionally - meaning, even though they don't believe what you believe?  Are you removing judgement from your heart?  Are you reminding yourself that their is a big plank in your eye (only the Christians will get that reference) and that we're all work-in-progress?

To All:  We're all in this together.  God loves you and wants to have a personal relationship with you through his Son.  Let Christ Himself be the focus and let's strive to love one another like He loves us.

Some other great quotes from Mother Teresa:

Find Jesus, and you will find peace. 

Give until it hurts.

Every time we need to make a decision concerning our families, we need to pray.

Do not wait for leaders; do it alone, person to person.

Each one of them is Jesus in disguise.

Each one of us is what he is in the eyes of God.

God doesn't require us to succeed; he only requires that you try.

If we really want to love, we must learn to forgive before anything else. 

If we have no peace, it is because we have forgotten that we belong to each other.