Real Christians

Oy.  What does that mean?

It's something I've been thinking a lot about.  You see, I've "come out" to my friends as a Christian.  To some of them, this is exclusionary language because of what 'the church' has come to represent:  HATE, lack of acceptance and giving of little care to actually helping the hurting.  To be honest, that perception made me really think about stating publicly my intention to follow Jesus Christ with my whole life.

To me, that's sad.  NOT my fear, but the perception that being a follower of Jesus means you don't accept, don't love, don't care for an individual for whatever reason.  Well, that's not the Jesus I'm all that interested in emulating.  I want to follow the one who cared.  I want to follow in the footsteps of the Jesus who ate with tax collectors and whores in a culture where eating with people was a big huge deal; who allowed the messy, difficult, lost, and hurting to come to him and find solace.

I want to follow the one who said (and I paraphrase) 'Uh, see this kid with all this messiness and simplicity?  Unless you can be like that?  Don't bother following me.", when he was asked who could get into heaven.  That kid?  Probably didn't have the cognitive ability to decide beyond basic right and wrong.  That kid?  Trusting, curious, full of wonder, probably in need of a bath, and more food, and to blow their nose.

We're human beings.  Farty, smelly, messy, and broken.  God doesn't expect us to come to him and be all "Heya, I got all the answers in my pocket here, and I can out smell a rose with my righteousness".  Nope.  Where's the humanity in that?  That's a bunch of prideful bullshit.  God wants to meet our needs.  What need of God do I have, what need of salvation do I need if I can do it on my own?

I think God wants the broken, those who know they are flawed, and human, and messy.  Do I think that we, as followers of Jesus, should GLORY in our broken state?  While you might think that my answer might be yes based on this conversation, really?  I think no.  I think, however, we need to be aware of how far God's grace and mercy has brought us.  Grace: giving me what I do not deserve (salvation, love, hope); Mercy: not giving me what I DO deserve (condemnation, death, pain, damnation).

How do we convey to the lost and hurting that we understand their pain and brokenness if we deny our own?  How to we tell them excitedly about how much we've been held back from the precipice or rescued from the depths if we're not owning that we've needed such saving?  That we are STILL in need of that kind of saving.

There is a lot I don't understand.  To be sure, there are encyclopedias full of that which I don't understand... everything, including God is included in that.  But I know where I have failed.  I know what grace I walk under, from what it is that mercy has delivered me.  I know intimately the love that has been afforded me, and none of it my doing to deserve - except my acceptance of the gift.

So, how to act that out in life, in MY life.  How do I share that with others?  How do I act out this faith, demonstrate how blessed I am, how blessed anyone who accepts it is?  Not really sure.  Maybe just owning it and loving those around me in the way I can do.  Maybe giving a shit about someone is enough... that level of care continuing through the relationship process.

As I said, I'm still working this out for myself, and I certainly don't have all the answers - or really any more than one basic answer.  I needed help, God stepped in and gave me help and a purpose.  I'm going to work it out on my knees and in prayer through my day.  I am going to love hard on people who need it.  There are so many who need... and so many to care for, and that I can do.  I hope that when you think of a Christian, THAT'S the thing you think of me as being.