Are You a Good Christ?
By Francis Chan
I think it's time we stop asking ourselves the question: "Am I a good Christian?" We live in a time when the term "Christian" has been so diluted that millions of immoral but nice people genuinely consider themselves "good Christians." We have reduced the idea of a good Christian to someone who believes in Jesus, loves his or her family, and attends church regularly. Others will label you a good Christian even though your life has no semblance to the way Christ spent His days on earth. Perhaps we should start asking the question: "Am I a good Christ?" In other words, do I look anything like Jesus? This question never even entered my mind until a friend of mine made a passing comment to me one day.
Dan is a long time friend of mine. In fact, he's the pastor who performed my wedding. He was talking to me about a pastor named Von. Von has been working with youth in the San Diego area for decades. Many of his students have gone on to become amazing missionaries and powerful servants of God. Dan described a trip to Tijuana, Mexico with Pastor Von. (Von has been ministering to the poor in the dumps of Tijuana for years). Dan didn't speak of the awful living conditions of those who made their homes amidst the rubbish. What impacted Dan the most was the relationship he saw between Von and the people of this community. He spoke of the compassion, sacrifice, and love that he witnessed in Von's words and actions as he held these malnourished and un-bathed children. Then he made the statement that sent me reeling:
"The day I spent with Von was the closest thing I've ever experienced to walking with Jesus."
Dan explained that the whole experience was so eerie because he kept thinking to himself: "If Jesus were still walking on earth in the flesh, this is what it would feel like to walk alongside of Him!" After that discussion, I kept wondering if anyone had ever said that about me-"The day I spent with Francis was the closest thing I've ever experienced to walking with Jesus." The answer was an obvious "no." Would any honest person say that about you?
What bothered me was not that I hadn't "arrived," but that I wasn't even heading in the right direction. I hadn't made it my goal to resemble Christ. I wasn't striving to become the kind of person who could be mistaken for Jesus Christ. Isn't it ironic that a man can be known as a successful pastor, speaker, and CHRISTian even if his life doesn't resemble Christ's?
1 John 2:6 "Whoever claims to live in him must walk as Jesus did."
When John made that statement, he wasn't speaking about how to be a church leader or even how to be a "good" Christian. He merely stated that anyone who calls himself Christian must live like Jesus did. So how did Jesus live? You could make a list of character traits to compare yourself to, but it would be far more beneficial to simply read through one of the Gospels. After you get a bird's-eye view of the life of Christ, do the same with your own. Are you comfortable with the similarities and differences?
It's easy to get caught up in the pursuit of "success" as American church-goers define it. The thought of being well-known and respected is alluring. There have been times when I've been caught up in the fun of popularity. I've even mistaken it for success. Biblically, however, success is when our lives parallel Christ's. Truth is, there are many good Christs that you'll never read about in a magazine. They are walking as Jesus walked, but they are too focused and humble to pursue their own recognition.
May we make it our goal to someday have someone say of us: "The day/hour/15 minutes I spent with ______ was the closest thing I've ever experienced to walking with Jesus."
As Christians in America, we often complain about how antagonistic people are toward Christ. Personally, I'm not sure that Americans are really rejecting Christ. Maybe they just haven't seen Him.
Try to be COMPLETELY honest with yourself right now. Is the following true of you?
You passionately love Jesus, but you don't really want to be like Him. You admire His humility, but you don't want to be THAT humble. You think it's beautiful that He washed the feet of the disciples, but that's not exactly the direction your life is headed. You're thankful He was spit upon and abused, but you would never let that happen to you. You praise Him for loving you enough to suffer during His whole time on earth, but you're going to do everything within your power to make sure you enjoy your time down here.
In short: You think He's a great Savior, but not a great role model.
The American church has abandoned the most simple and obvious truth of what it means to follow Jesus: You actually follow His pattern of life. I pray for those who read this article- that we don't become cynical or negative toward the church. Instead, let's make a personal decision to stop talking so much and begin living like Jesus. Then we can say as the apostle Paul, "Follow my example, as I follow the example of Christ" (1 Corinthians 11:1). My guess is that you've never had someone say that to you, and you've never said it to anyone else. Why Not?
Tuesday, March 30, 2010
Saturday, March 27, 2010
Things that really burn my biscuits
Mouth to mouth resuscitation attempts that fail...so frustrating when you go through all that and it's in vain.
(CNN) -- A Pennsylvania man attempted to resuscitate "a road-killed opossum," state police say.
But this was one possum who wasn't playing possum -- the ugly creature remained dead.
Troopers responding to the scene in Oliver Township on Thursday determined that Donald J. Wolfe, 55, of Brookville, was drunk, according to the police report.
Several witnesses observed Wolfe's failed resurrection of the flattened marsupial, police said. It was not immediately clear how he endeavored to restore the possum's life.
The arresting officer in the incident was unavailable for comment Friday. Attempts to reach Wolfe were also unsuccessful.
Wolfe will be charged with one charge of public drunkenness, police said.
(CNN) -- A Pennsylvania man attempted to resuscitate "a road-killed opossum," state police say.
But this was one possum who wasn't playing possum -- the ugly creature remained dead.
Troopers responding to the scene in Oliver Township on Thursday determined that Donald J. Wolfe, 55, of Brookville, was drunk, according to the police report.
Several witnesses observed Wolfe's failed resurrection of the flattened marsupial, police said. It was not immediately clear how he endeavored to restore the possum's life.
The arresting officer in the incident was unavailable for comment Friday. Attempts to reach Wolfe were also unsuccessful.
Wolfe will be charged with one charge of public drunkenness, police said.
Tough Pill to Swallow
There was a period of time a couple of years ago where I got really bad migraines. I don't know why. Maybe allergies. Maybe stress. Maybe just growing pains. But they were really bad. The kind that make your vision go fuzzy and your stomach churn.
For awhile, I would dope myself up with advil or excedrin or tylenol or whatever I could get to the fastest. I would take two little pills and lay down for awhile. Inevitably, it wouldn't be enough so I would pop a couple more little pills. And then I would sleep.
By the time I woke up, I would feel better. I could at least function. But there was always the threat of the headache coming back. For those who have never experienced a migraine, it's hard to explain...but while I wasn't in crippling pain, I still had a lingering feeling in my skull that warned me not to look at any bright lights or move too fast or it was going to come back with a vengeance. It could stay that way for hours, sometimes days, but often the headache would in fact be triggered again and come back full force.
I finally broke down and went to the doctor. After lots of tests to determine it wasn't anything more than just migraines, I was given a prescription for a GIANT painkiller. I was to take one any time a headache was coming on. Better than my 6 little guys, but one of those pills was bigger than my thumbnail. It made me nervous just to look at it.
And the first time I attempted to swallow one...holy hotdogs. It made me gag. The pill was so big I could barely get it down my throat. Tough to swallow would be the understatement of the century. It was painful going down.
But it worked. And it usually worked fairly quickly. It got to the root of the headache and I wasn't left with any lingering feelings. I felt healed.
**********************************************************************************
Sometimes when we experience struggles or frustrations or anger and bitterness, people can say things that help, at least as far as our emotions are concerned. Things that validate us, that affirm our feelings and make us feel fuzzier or more justified on the inside.
"No, you were right. She was wrong."
"You have every right to be angry at her."
"You have every right to be angry at God."
"You need some chocolate and a chick flick."
"You deserve to be treated better."
Those are the little pills...the ones that after 6 or 7 make you think you're doing better.
For awhile, I would dope myself up with advil or excedrin or tylenol or whatever I could get to the fastest. I would take two little pills and lay down for awhile. Inevitably, it wouldn't be enough so I would pop a couple more little pills. And then I would sleep.
By the time I woke up, I would feel better. I could at least function. But there was always the threat of the headache coming back. For those who have never experienced a migraine, it's hard to explain...but while I wasn't in crippling pain, I still had a lingering feeling in my skull that warned me not to look at any bright lights or move too fast or it was going to come back with a vengeance. It could stay that way for hours, sometimes days, but often the headache would in fact be triggered again and come back full force.
I finally broke down and went to the doctor. After lots of tests to determine it wasn't anything more than just migraines, I was given a prescription for a GIANT painkiller. I was to take one any time a headache was coming on. Better than my 6 little guys, but one of those pills was bigger than my thumbnail. It made me nervous just to look at it.
And the first time I attempted to swallow one...holy hotdogs. It made me gag. The pill was so big I could barely get it down my throat. Tough to swallow would be the understatement of the century. It was painful going down.
But it worked. And it usually worked fairly quickly. It got to the root of the headache and I wasn't left with any lingering feelings. I felt healed.
**********************************************************************************
Sometimes when we experience struggles or frustrations or anger and bitterness, people can say things that help, at least as far as our emotions are concerned. Things that validate us, that affirm our feelings and make us feel fuzzier or more justified on the inside.
"No, you were right. She was wrong."
"You have every right to be angry at her."
"You have every right to be angry at God."
"You need some chocolate and a chick flick."
"You deserve to be treated better."
Those are the little pills...the ones that after 6 or 7 make you think you're doing better.
But something is leftover. The anger or sadness has not been healed, but simply band-aided and maybe in hours, maybe in days, it will come back and probably bigger and worse than the first time around.
Then there's truth. The truth that hurts on the way down. The kind that makes you anxious to just think about having to deal with it.
"You aren't trusting God."
"You are trying to play God."
"It's not your job to fix it and you're trying to make it your job."
"Jen...you are holding on. And you have to let it go."
When you're already in pain, already hurting, the last thing you want is something that causes more hurt on the way down.
But that's what Truth does.
It battles with our humanity and kills some sin that is alive in us.
Killing anything that's alive never goes without some kind of pain.
Truth is a tough pill to swallow...but it works.
Edit:: After writing this post I went to my google desktop and this was my quote of the day.
Truth does not changed based on our ability to stomach it.
~Flannery O'Connor
Friday, March 26, 2010
Thursday, March 25, 2010
Amazed
Why is it, that the more I find myself hurting for someone else, heavy-hearted for the things we do to our children, and broken for the sin of this life, that I feel God's power, love, grace and forgiveness more than ever before.
Today has been a day. The kind that had little to do with me and everything to do with God. Somehow I felt shattered and full of joy at the same exact time.
God.
Nothing else.
There's nothing else it could be.
"God knows quite well how hard we find it to love Him more than anyone or anything else, and He won’t be angry with us as long as we are trying. And He will help us."
~Excerpt from a letter from C.S. Lewis to the mother of a child who was concerned that her young child was idolizing the character Aslan from the Chronicles of Narnia
Today has been a day. The kind that had little to do with me and everything to do with God. Somehow I felt shattered and full of joy at the same exact time.
God.
Nothing else.
There's nothing else it could be.
"God knows quite well how hard we find it to love Him more than anyone or anything else, and He won’t be angry with us as long as we are trying. And He will help us."
~Excerpt from a letter from C.S. Lewis to the mother of a child who was concerned that her young child was idolizing the character Aslan from the Chronicles of Narnia
Tuesday, March 23, 2010
Urban Camping 101
When pitching a tent in a 350 square foot apartment, there are a couple of steps you should probably follow...
1. Find somebody who is just crazy enough to be willing to help you take on such a great feat. Someone who can find their "inner 6 year old" and jump into the land where magic forts are the best thing since sliced bread, lollipops are your secret weapon and sunglasses make you invisible.
2. Pull out the necessary equipment and look a tiny bit stupid while realizing this might be a tad more confusing than previously thought.
3. Move coffee table and unroll tent.
4. Unfold tent and realize there ain't no way it's going to fit in the spot you alloted for it. Put on your magic pink "thinking" pants (jammies) and stare at it for awhile.
5. Put it up anyway. Or...let your amigo do it.
6. Realize that tent has filled up every last inch of free floor space you had, which wasn't much to begin with. Make mental note to not wait until the last second to go to the bathroom, should the need arise, because you're going to have to be creative about how you actually get to the toilet.
7. Realize that the door to the tent is shoved up against the couch. Aka: Have to climb on the couch in order to get down into tent. Unleash inner 6 year old and pretend that the floor is covered in lava and hop from one piece of furniture to the other, trying not to get "burned." (This step is optional.)
8. Turn out all the lights, open the window, put a lantern inside the tent, and proceed with Camping Simulation Station.
9. Figure out all the different ways a snake could get into your tent, talk about what causes bears to approach humans, discuss the pros and cons of bringing hot dog buns.
10. Get REAL excited about upcoming camping trip.
P.S. For anyone who wants to come visit...I now have a "guest house." Y'all are welcome to it anytime.
1. Find somebody who is just crazy enough to be willing to help you take on such a great feat. Someone who can find their "inner 6 year old" and jump into the land where magic forts are the best thing since sliced bread, lollipops are your secret weapon and sunglasses make you invisible.
2. Pull out the necessary equipment and look a tiny bit stupid while realizing this might be a tad more confusing than previously thought.
3. Move coffee table and unroll tent.
4. Unfold tent and realize there ain't no way it's going to fit in the spot you alloted for it. Put on your magic pink "thinking" pants (jammies) and stare at it for awhile.
5. Put it up anyway. Or...let your amigo do it.
6. Realize that tent has filled up every last inch of free floor space you had, which wasn't much to begin with. Make mental note to not wait until the last second to go to the bathroom, should the need arise, because you're going to have to be creative about how you actually get to the toilet.
7. Realize that the door to the tent is shoved up against the couch. Aka: Have to climb on the couch in order to get down into tent. Unleash inner 6 year old and pretend that the floor is covered in lava and hop from one piece of furniture to the other, trying not to get "burned." (This step is optional.)
8. Turn out all the lights, open the window, put a lantern inside the tent, and proceed with Camping Simulation Station.
9. Figure out all the different ways a snake could get into your tent, talk about what causes bears to approach humans, discuss the pros and cons of bringing hot dog buns.
10. Get REAL excited about upcoming camping trip.P.S. For anyone who wants to come visit...I now have a "guest house." Y'all are welcome to it anytime.
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