A young woman I know was talking to me the other day about some argument she had with a family member. During the conversation, she made the remark, "I'm not a Christian. I cuss, and drink, and have sex. So, no, I'm not a Christian. Definitely not a Christian." I was dumbfounded. I was hurt. I angry. And I was sorry. She had no idea.
My heart hurt. Literally. And still does. As a church we have painted an image of perfection being the necessity into this sacred club called "Christianity". Christianity to the world of many has become a club about not drinking, not swearing, going to church every Sunday, reading your Bible daily, not having sex before you're married, not being gay, etc. Christianity to her, and many others, has become a group with too many rules, that if not followed to a tee makes her unworthy of claiming Jesus. Society paints this image of Christians as well. Turn on TV, and any religion-centered joke is based off the cynicism developed by this negative view of Christians. There are points in my own walk with Christ that I am ashamed of calling myself a Christian because I don't live up to the standards this woman spoke of in her statement. Then I realized...
I became angry upon hearing her statement. Not angry with her, but with her family member who assumed those were necessary qualities. I became angry with me. I became angry with my church. I became angry with churches. And I became angry with anyone who claims themselves Christian because we aren't doing our job. Persecution instead of love angers me. This lead to my sorrow and feelings of regret/apologies. Jesus said,"34 A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. 35 By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another." Last I checked, Jesus spent time with the poor, the weak, the "sinners" (aka the people who cursed, and drank, and had sex, and didn't go to temple). Jesus loved them. He didn't persecute them. Instead, we persecuted Him. He didn't exclude them from His love. He didn't exclude them. But we do.
She continued on with her story. We both went back to the task we were working on. But I wish I would have been able to stop and tell her how skewed her perception was. I wanted to apologize to her for the way she's been treated. I wanted to apologize to her for the way I've acted in the past. I wished I could have told her about this Jesus I love, about this Jesus who loves me. It isn't about religion or Christianity. Gandhi said, "I like your Christ, I do not like your Christians. Your Christians are so unlike your Christ." My Jesus is about love. It's about working on a relationship that has ups and downs. It's a relationship where I break the rules more than I want to. It's a relationship where Jesus still loves me back. He doesn't shut me out like she's experienced from family members. He doesn't fail her. Instead, He loves her.
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