|
Zeal without perception Is not a good thing Being Christian is not an easy thing, there are so many ways "to blow it." It seems as though God built the seeds of failure into our basic nature. The moment we think we understand God, everything comes crashing down around our heads. My personal experiences could fill a manual on "How Not To Represent Jesus." Many of my problems through a "practice marriage" and my "real one" have been related to the passion with which I addressed my perception of God's "Truth." I belonged to the World Wide Church of God; a sect which believed it possessed "special understanding." When you believe something like that, interpersonal difficulties have a tendency to crop up. But, no matter the difficulty, I fell back on the belief that I understood God's Word. Oh, sure, I studied to prove myself approved to God, but only to prove myself right. We possess an almost supernatural ability to "proof test," defending our turf with passion. Then, one day, our leadership acknowledged error in our most basic teachings. Furthermore, it was revealed these errors had been known but covered up for years in a desire to "protect" the flock. As I sat through numerous Sabbath services, a list of changes scrolled before the stunned congregations. Many of passionate disputes came back to taunt me. All the times I had forged onward in my zeal despite questions of "How can you justify these things in the light of…" My wives used to flame my anger with the question, "I don't get it. Just where are all these good Christians you are always talking about? It's one thing to not involve yourself in others' lives; it's something altogether different to ignore the flaws in you own." I would raise my voice and wave my arms about - how Christian!" We had been a sect that would point fingers at the wrongs of society, but sit back without attempting to work at solving them. When Jesus returned, He would do all that for us. God would also clean up our financial mistakes, our marital discord, our troubled children, and all the other things we needed fixed by Him, if He would just return soon. Oh, when would He get here? "Where are all the good Christians? Now that my spiritual foundation had been uprooted, how was I to defend "the Faith?" The change in my church provided the beginning for me. After admitting they had been wrong about being basically infallible, the leadership announced this time they had gotten it right. Right! As the squirrel said to the Moose, "Again that trick never works." (Punctuation left out intentionally) You see, I had been deeply passionate because I was certain of the truth of my beliefs. I was willing to die for an error. But, if I had been so wrong about something of which I was so convinced, how could I be so sure of anything in the future? Beyond that, how could I ever criticize the cherished beliefs of another? Recently, the question was asked again, "Where are all the good Christians?" Where? My mind began to hum. In all the times I faced this conumbdrum, never had the answer seemed so clear. -- with the good Indians. To paraphrase the words of former president Andrew Jackson, "The only good Christian is a dead Christian." At last something to be passionate about: Life is one big Mulligan for the purpose of learning compassion - com-passion. Not just accepting those around us (who don't feel as we do), but a celebration of their uniqueness as in the varied beauty of the greater creation. Since, we are mutually just as wrong and just as correct, Christ's Passion makes even more sense; He has solved (our sinful nature) it all for us. What remains is for us to learn how to express this to others in the manner we wish it applied to us -- unconditionally. Where, once, I promoted my personal beliefs; I was, now, possessed of a zeal to understand and share others'. See, what makes us Christian is not our morality. It's the realization that we are flawed and need God's mercy. When a religious leader came to Jesus and called Him "Good Sir, " Jesus admonished with, "Why call you me good? There is non good except God." Nope, unlike those who don't seem to need God, we've been shown our basic nature. As a result, we relish His Grace like a Chicago hotdog needs fixings. We see our failures and shortcomings and cry out for mercy. Then, realizing how God forgives us, we forgive those around us. We don't get mad at others for not living up to perceived standards. We don't point fingers and shout, "Shame, shame on you sinners. " We don't… We don't? Well, yes we do; but, like I just discovered, there are NO good Christians alive. We are all a work in progress. Thanks to the sacrifice of Jesus, the only good Christian is a dead Christian. At last, something to be passionate about. |
|
|