Jesus, Not Christians

Preface time: my inspiration for this post came as I was pondering on what to post about. I really wouldn’t want to write another long one on hemophilia again for a good while. I ended up drawing inspiration from the lips of perhaps one of the greatest human rights activists of all time.

No, I’m not speaking of one of the many “messengers of God” who claim to be filled with the holy spirit that come knocking on your door every morning. I’m not speaking of Martin Luther or the wonderful Roman Catholic Pope Benedict XVI or our beloved Dr. John Piper whom I keep mentioning for no apparent reason (hahaha, I love the guy!)

Rather, I speak of one who shares my nationality. I speak of one who fought, throughout his whole life, with non-violence; one who persevered through oppression for the sake of his nation.

Gandhi’s Quote

I’m talking about a man who has suffered way more than I have, though I’ve got hemophilia. I’m talking about none other than Mahatma Gandhi: the dude whose mission it was to see a day when India would no longer be oppressed under the rule of the British empire; a mission that he would later accomplish during the course of his life. Here’s what he said:

“I like your Christ, I do not like your Christians. Your Christians are so unlike your Christ.”

Now, that struck me. Big time. Thinking about it, Christians really do live life in a way that is “so unlike their Christ.” They worship him as God, but fail to walk in his ways and to “do life” in a way that is pleasing to him.

When things get hard, when fear grips us, when hemophilia gets worse, when the earth shakes, we fall away! So much so, that the onlooking world gazes upon us and scoffs, saying things like “Pfff, they’re are all hypocrites!” and “they say they believe in God, apparently except on the weekends!”

It’s True

This inferior societal image of believers in Jesus has caught on simply because of this one fact: it’s true. We’re sinners by nature and choice. I admit it on behalf of believers everywhere. Even the prideful ones who would beg to differ.

Things like hardship, suffering, sin, death and hemophilia don’t make “living like a Christian” any easier. That being said, people, non-Christians, even atheists who don’t believe in any form of a God, often times miss the point of Christianity.

It’s All About Jesus

It’s not about people who say they believe in Jesus, it’s not about those that call themselves Christian, it’s not about the ones who utter expletives when they’re in pain caused by hemophilia or when they’ve suffered the loss of a loved one.

Rather, it’s about the guy they worship. It’s about the perfect love that he has shown them, in spite of their folly and hypocrisy and stupidity. Even though they likely break one of the ten commandments every day, the God they worship, Jesus Christ, shows them love. Love ultimately culminating in him laying down his life for them.

You say that we are messed up people, I agree! How much more awesome does that make Jesus out to be? He showed such love to such a depraved set of people! He loved prostitutes and drunkards and hypocrites! Ah, things start to become clearer when we look at Christianity in relation to Christ, not Christians.

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