“I don’t call myself a Christian
anymore,” John said. The passengers in the car with him all turned their heads
and blinked. “What do you mean,” the driver asked, “You mean you’re not a
Christian?”
John turned to the driver and shook
his head. “No, I mean if a Christian is someone that claims they are following
Christ, but is ok with living a worldly lifestyle, or is someone who has no
concern for the needy and the poor, then that’s not a person I want to be
associated with. When people hear the word ‘Christian’, what they think of is
the televangelist conning old women out of their social security money, or some
guy in a three-piece suit telling people that God wants to make them rich.
That’s not what a Christian is to me,” he said.
John had spent the weekend with these
three other gentlemen on a fishing trip to the mountains.
None of them were very close friends,
but they shared a common love of fishing, and a faith in Christ. At least
that’s what they had all assumed at the beginning of their trip.
“You can’t do that,” the driver said.
John looked over at the man. “Do what?”
“You can’t just decide to stop calling
yourself a Christian because you don’t want to be associated with a certain
group of people,” the driver said.
John smiled and said, “Why not? I
mean, on the other hand I don’t think any of us measure up to what a real,
Biblical Christian looks like. When I read the book of Acts and I see their
radical compassion for the poor and their willingness to sell property and
possessions to share with anyone in need, I’m blown away because I’m not even
close to having that kind of faith in God,” he said. “What right do I have, do
any of us have, to compare ourselves to people like that who had faith to give
up everything to follow Jesus?”
As the discussion raged on, one of the
four men sat quietly in the back seat and stared out the window. He was not
much of a talker by nature, as the rest of them had already discovered early on
in their weekend together. After the storm of dialog had quieted down he
cleared his throat and said, “I’m like you, John. I call myself a Christian
too, but I’m not a loving person.
I don’t love my wife the way I
should,” he said. The other men in the car looked at one another, and then
looked away in the silence of the car. John felt his eyes filling with tears
for this man in the backseat. He knew that it was a very brave thing to admit,
especially to a car full of acquaintances, but because of John’s willingness to
confess his weakness, this gentleman had found the courage to admit his own
tendency to fall short of the Glory of God. As John relayed this story to me, I
was touched and challenged by what had transpired in that car.
First, I was very proud of my friend
for having the courage to say those sorts of things and provoke that sort of
conversation. We could all use a bit more raw honesty in our lives, and this is
the sort of thing I believe James had in mind when he said, “Confess your sins
to one another and pray for one another so that you may be healed.” (James
5:16)
Secondly, I was inspired by the wisdom
of John’s statement concerning our identity as followers of Jesus. I
whole-heartedly agree with him on both counts. The idea of someone equating
what I believe and practice in my faith with what transpires on 99% of
Christian Television makes me sick to my stomach.
The last thing I’d want is for someone
to hear that I’m a Christian and assume that I’m in favor of what these
self-proclaimed spokespeople for Jesus spew out over the airwaves daily. At the
same time, when the Bible describes the character of those earliest Christians,
I am humbled by their radical compassion and somewhat ashamed to compare my
life to theirs.
What if we all stopped identifying
ourselves as Christians? What would we say the next time a co worker asks us
about our faith? How would we describe what we believe to a stranger at a party
or that person next to us on the airplane?
Here’s what I think I’ll say from now
on; “I have been fascinated lately with the person of Jesus. So, I’ve been
reading books about his teachings, especially the Gospels, and doing my best to
follow his wisdom in every area of my life.”
It seriously excites me now to think
about my next encounter of this sort. Imagine the honest conversation you can
have with someone by simply identifying yourself as someone who is fascinated
with Jesus.
Personally, I can’t wait to introduce
myself as someone who is curious about the teachings of Jesus and who is
learning how to put his words into practice. I think this is a far more
compelling response to someone who inquires about our faith. Much more so than
simply saying, “I am a Christian” which instantly polarizes everyone, shuts
down any hope of
conversation and creates an “Us vs
Them” environment. From this day forward, if anyone asks me about my faith, I
want it to be known that I am not a Christian, at least not in the sense that
it has come to be understood. Today, I am a follower of Jesus. I am someone who
is fascinated with the person and teaching of Jesus and I am doing my best to
put His words into practice.
I am not a Christian. I am a follower
of Jesus.The saddest truth is that those two things aren’t necessarily the
same.
