I have to admit I think many believers have had this kind of experience at one time or another.
You know those special moments where you interact with another believer and the cringe factor kicks in which then leaves you pondering (like Bono)...
"If that's what Christianity is about then they are seriously bad advertising!"
(Not because they are not perfect enoughI know I certainly have and even now I find some Christians I meet to be just plain WEIRD!
Nothing against them personally. Most of them are well meaning, good hearted, and sincere people, it's just that they have become so 'Christianised' that they are clueless about how to reach into the world of a person who is outside of their beliefs.
More importantly it can't just be about gaining brownie points from God because I conversed with someone today. It must be deeply rooted in LOVE because this is actually the mark of truly authentic believers. Not power, or gifts, or how articulate I am but L O V E love!
In Paul's wonderful paradoxical chapter on Love he states (1 Cor 13v1) "If I SPEAK IN THE TONGUES of MEN and of ANGELS, but HAVE NOT LOVE, I AM ONLY a RESOUNDING GONG or a CLANGING CYMBAL."
Maybe we are just GONGING and CLANGING more than we are hearing, caring, and having a meaningful connection?
When I say they and them I'm also including the same challenge for me and my life. I think as believers we all need to constantly challenge ourselves to remain relevant in order to effectively reach out and make a difference in others lives.
After all it's a lifestyle not just a bunch of empty cliche`s
Perhaps Emerson summed it up well when he proclaimed...
“Who you are is speaking so loudly I
can’t hear what you are saying”(Ralph Waldo Emerson)
what do you think????
FYI I'm currently Reading...
UnChristian - Kinnaman
Business @ the Speed of Thought - Bill Gates
Tactics - Edward de Bono
AND I never go a day without reading something from my all time favourite THE BOOK
