I read a blog yesterday from Freakonomics titled We Pretend We are Christian. Obviously caught my eye right away. The blog was a response to a letter written to the authors of Freakonomics. The lady who wrote the letter said that she and her family live deep in the heart of Texas. She said that her and her husband have to pretend to be Christians so they won’t be made outcasts. She said they are agnostics, but when she had opened up before to the Christians that she had met about not being a Christian, they quit hanging out with them. Play dates just stopped all of a sudden. Her and her husband decided it would be easier to play along while out with others and just let people believe that they are Christians also.
The blog had several comments from people who said they do the same thing for the same reasons. It made me sad. What kind of response is that. “Oh, you aren’t a Christian? Goodbye. Don’t call me again.” It is that type of response that makes people not want to be associated with Christians.
We need to consider the familiar phrase that people use that we should be in the world and not of the world. We can not seclude ourselves from all people who do not believe the way we do. The church will never grow if we do. We can live among the lost people of this world, even develop relationships with them, but maintain our faith. We can't lock the church doors and expect the lost people are going to try to find a way in.
Thank God that Jesus didn’t live that life. If Jesus didn’t come to condemn the world but to save the world, and we are called the body of Christ, then we need to quit condemning the world and help lead them to the salvation that comes from Christ.
About Me
- David Willy
- I am a husband and a father and I pray that I will continue to look more like Christ to my wife and children each day. I pray that all that I do will be used to give glory to the Father and Christ through the Holy Spirit.
OK, David. I've been listening to a series by David Platt entitled Radical. Go here:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.brookhills.org/media/series/radical/
The series is several sermons long and each sermon is close to an hour long. Platt pretty much turns the whole American church upon its head. I haven't listened to every sermon yet, but each sermon thus far has been VERY convicting. Don't listen if you want to feel good about yourself afterward.
I will check it out. I already feel bad about myself, so I might as well listen to a good sermon. To quote Jared Wilson about one of the problems with the church, "I am great this I know for Tony Robbins tells me so!" Even in admitting that we are sinful, deep down most people still feel like we are pretty good people. That is why we rank sin and say things like "Well at least I don't do..."
ReplyDeleteHow do we solve this? Admit that we are just as lost as the rest of the world, Thank God that we have found Jesus, and do our best to help others find Jesus. We don't hid from all the horrible sinners and expect that they will decide on their own to become a Christian without seeing the love of Christ.
"Thank God that we have found Jesus, and do our best to help others find Jesus. We don't hid from all the horrible sinners and expect that they will decide on their own to become a Christian without seeing the love of Christ."
ReplyDeleteThis is the gist of the series I posted. Except that David Platt kicks you in the groin at the same time.
That sounds nice!
ReplyDelete