Minimal Christianity

There is no secret that North American Christianity is in trouble. White the causes for that are many and far beyond the scope of this blog to decipher, let me focus today on one observation.

I note that we seem to be caught up in a cycle of what I am calling minimal Christianity. Run with me here ... it seems to me that we Christians worry more about what the minimum is that we can get away with and still say we are good Christians in the eyes of God. What is the minimum amount of money we can give to our churches? What is the minimum number of Bible verses we can read and still be good? What is the minimum amount of time we can spend at church? and so on it goes ...

We want to be right in the eyes of God but we don't want to be bothered by God. We want to do what is right but we don't want to be inconvenienced. So we try to find the minimum about of effort we have to put into being a Christian. We balance our lives trying to do just what we need to do to get by.

Then we stand aghast at the condition of the church. Evil seems to be gaining. There seems to be little spiritual discernment. No one seems to care. And we wonder why.

Be A Christian:

One thing I see these days that is prevalent in Christianity, especially the North American variety is this ... that Christianity is mostly a club that people join. They attend the club meetings on Sundays and (sometimes) Wednesdays and the rest of the week they have little or nothing to do with the club. It is as though they don't see themselves as "being" Christians but they see themselves playing the part of a Christian.

But being a Christian IS something we are. It is our state of being. Just as I am a human being I am a Christian. Just as I am a man I am a Christian. People would look at me strangely if I behaved in ways contrary to being a human. For example, if I were invited to a friend's house for dinner, and when dinner was served if I put the plate on the floor and began to lap up my food with my tongue, I imagine I would gather some odd looks. And rightly so. That is not typical human behavior. If I, being a man, choose to start to wear dresses to work and wear eye liner and lipstick, people might think me a little odd. They would know that is not typical behavior for a man. People would think me odd because I am a human. I am a man. It is what I am.

In the same way, we are Christians. We are born again new creations through faith in our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Our Christianity is not a club we are members of. It is what we are. So, just as it is odd when we behave like something we are not. It is odd for us as Christians to behave in none Christian ways.

We need to learn to be what we are and stop playing at it. The world will never take our faith claims seriously until we take our faith claims seriously. We say knowing Jesus is a "life changing experience." Yet we do not live like our lives have been changed.

Our lives were meant to be living epistles, God's letters to the world proclaiming his truth through us and the lives we live as we live out the truth of God's work in us. The truth of the gospel is demonstrated to the world by the lives of the people who have been affected by the gospel. Beloved reader, if this is what you SAY you are .. then let it BE what you are. Amen?