Christian...

I know it’s been a while, but I’ve been plowing through the book Radical by David Platt. The chapters are so full of Biblical truth, that seeps deeper than I have ever thought before, that I find myself constantly stopping to pray and talk with God about things He is revealing to me. It’s really eye opening. Things I grew up believing were the Christian way are merely a very small token of the bigger picture. I have always witnessed the statistic of 10% of the church will carry out 100% of the job but I never really grasped what was actually involved in that 100%. I decided to “bing” Christian. Should be simple right? I opened a can of worms. I was even more disheartened by the many comments on open forums. Why does the world hate us so much? When I was younger, it wasn’t like this. People cared about others no mater their religion or status. In fact, the Bible teaches us, it is part of being a follower of Christ. But, instead, I see us labeling others in a way that only separates us. Let’s look at Christ and how He lived. Then compare our own lives, not those of others and see how we measure up. Jesus spent most of His ministry with 12 men. One of which we all know what happens in the end, greed. So, did Jesus miss something? Uhhh, No! He has all ways been, will all be, all knowing. He knew and even points it out before hand. So, did Jesus treat Judas any different? No. He knew the outcome but still ministered to him whole heartily. But today, we are consistently acting like the Levite or that certain Priest and crossing on the other side of the road. We have the “we are Christian, so not to blemish our facet, we need a large distance between us” attitudes. We compare ourselves to each other based on what we own as if it is a “blessing” status. “Wow, look at what they have, they must be living right. They are blessed” and “They are in a difficult situation, they must have forgotten to bless their breakfast this morning.” Instead of judging each other, why aren’t we doing as we are commanded, and loving our neighbor as ourselves. And for the record, it didn’t say “Love thy fellow Christian who holds the same status as you, as yourself.” Have you’re ever thought that you’re blessed so you can show God’s glory through blessing others? Not just faithfully giving your tithes and Sunday night missions offering. And definitely not to hoard all of it up for your own desires and glory. But blessing someone who is in a difficult situation, even if it’s the third time they’ve been there. Instead of resorting to labeling them, minister to them. According to the world’s standard, Jesus should have not invited Judas to the Last Supper. It would have been perfectly acceptable to block him on facebook and ultimately pass by on the other side of the road. Instead, Jesus loved him and showed compassion towards him. He ministered. Jesus Christ is the definition of Christian. And that’s just the beginning…