I had a conversation this past week with some other followers of Jesus and we were sharing about a concern we had about some folks both in and out of our church. Now, I’ve been in conversations like these before, as I’m sure most of us have been, and sadly I found myself expecting the conversation to turn ugly. Other conversations about “difficult situations/people” have tended to be pretty one-sided and very rough on the victim, I mean, person in question. This conversation never went there, which was awesome. Instead, at one point, we started sharing real deeply about our concern. The issue was about some real concerns we had about some decisions another christian in our community were making and how we were to respond.
Again, what I loved about the discussion is that it didn’t take on the usual tone of “I’m right, you’re wrong and you need to change.” This conversation had more of a “I’m not saying I’ve got it all together, but I’m really concerned.” Our conversation continued and since then a thought has resurfaced multiple times when it comes to living out our faith in community – Are we as followers of Jesus, way to nice to each other?
Now, I’m fully aware that this is not the most common theme coming from many in the church! There are people both inside and outside the walls of our churches that see the church as full of angry people that are just waiting for a chance to pounce on some moral failure. I’ve been the victim of this “type” of christianity (I call it a type, because I really question the authenticity of that kind of faith), and I know it’s a real problem. When I talk about a “way to nice” kind of Christianity, I’m thinking of the reaction to the negative “type.” I mean is it okay to tell a brother or sister that their behavior is wildly at odds with the faith that we profess together?
I just finished a book by Bishop Will Willimon this week called Why Jesus? and what I loved about the book is that it creatively and simplistically presented that Jesus actually expected differences in his followers. It wasn’t shocking, but it was pushing. Toward the end of the book he says “The body of Christ, the church, is the best proof for a resurrected Jesus.” It’s not mind-blowing, but it’s radical nonetheless. Think about it, how often do you and I think about our behavior as being a personal example of the actual resurrection of Jesus? While driving through traffic are you aware of your ability to witness as the proof of resurrection and Lordship? This is really difficult for me right now as I’ve begun treatment for insomnia and am even more sleep deprived than normal. When I’m grumpy or short or just want to be left alone, am I living proof of a loving God – of a resurrected Christ?
This get’s me back to character – I believe and depend on a full experience of God’s Grace both received and given to those around me. I need grace because I’m a fallen person “working his salvation out” and moving on toward perfection – I’m not there yet! With that said, I also need to grow more and more into the fullness of the creation God intended me to be. Max Lucado once wrote “God loves you exactly the way you are, and because of that, He’s not willing to leave you where you are, but to invite you to grow.” Is it really helping a brother or sister to grow in the image of Christ by not shining light or asking a difficult question?
There’s a lot of talk about the Missional Church – a church that chooses to live out Christ’s prayer of being a part of Heaven coming to earth – but I can’t help but think that a Missional Church that won’t lovingly sit down with a brother or sister and talk about growing edges is missing the point. By the way, I would say this kind of relationship or missional pushing can only be done with brothers and sisters in Christ. Why are we so offended when non-followers of Jesus actually act like non-followers of Jesus? I’m much more concerned about brothers and sisters who are settling for far less than they were created, redeemed and restored for.
A final word of thought – this kind of community is scary. It’s scary to live your life wide open so that you welcome others to come and share with you your blind spots. It’s scary to walk up to someone and push a bit. It’s scary to receive because I could be wrong and it’s scary to share because, guess what, I could be wrong. A community that is willing to push in this way is living humility. It’s a community that sees a Jesus who “humbly went to death on a cross” so that we could be made righteous and holy and pure and grace drenched. May we have the courage to follow the PUSH – the ones that come from our brothers and sister, the ones that we need to offer and most of all the one that comes from our God who says, “I love you, now let’s grow and love others in the same way!”
GRACE AND PEACE!