Christians: You are a (modern day) Christian if...
you listen to Hillsong United.
you drink coffee.
you own at least one beanie.
your bible has at least ten pages completely FULL of notes/highlights/circles.
you blog (lol).
you've been to bible camp.
you have at least one verse written on paper hanging up in your room somewhere.
you own 38472938 journals.
you have (or plan to get) a tattoo of something to do with your faith.
you are "intentional."
you want to get married young.
you want to have at least three kids.
you own a pair of Toms.
you're ultimate goal is to get a picture with little black kids from a third world country.
Boom. There it is. This is what being a Christian is like today. If you fit all of these descriptions, you're on your way to heaven - no doubt. Oh, but if you fit less than, like, fourteen, uhmm...sorry, this is awkward, and there's no other way to put it, but I guess I'll just say it...
you don't belong with us.
World: Wait a second. HOLD UP. Since when did Christianity become a club? I'm so confused, and I'm lost...I need Jesus, I know I do, but I'm not a hipster or a coffee drinker or a Toms-wearer. What should I do?
Christians: We told you already! We can't help you. We only want to help those who are starving and thirsty in third world countries... like the little black children? Come on, you know this. They deserve Jesus more than you do. And you listen to...Rihanna? Seriously? Oh, and you over there...you have green hair? Oh, and you, what is that in your hands? A book on evolution? Lies. I can't deal with this.
World: Wait, don't leave! I know it may not seem like we want your help, and I can't believe we're actually admitting this...but we need you! I know we may come off as intimidating or different, but we are looking for love...will you help us?
Christians: I'm too busy tonight, I have to plan my mission trip to Africa, go to a bible study, and I just HAVE to fill another ten pages of my bible with notes and doodles. Sorry. God bless! xoxo
What. In. The. World. Are. We. Doing.
Lately, I've been trying to find the reason why the world looks at Christians like we're completely whacked up...and I think I might have found it.
We don't have enough of the one thing we need more than anything else...more than Toms, more than coffee, more than theology, more than Rend Collective, and even more than C.S. Lewis quotes.
We don't have enough of the real Jesus.
The fake Jesus tells us to invite our best friends over for dinner for a bible study/gossip session.
The real Jesus tells us to take that girl or boy that no one talks to at school out to dinner.
The fake Jesus tells us it's okay to look down upon everyone else who isn't saved, just because they're not saved.
The real Jesus tells us to humble ourselves, and to not judge one another.
The fake Jesus tells us to seclude ourselves from the world. After all, it's poison.
The real Jesus tells us to be in the world, sharing the good news to the people that are the hardest to share it to.
No wonder the world is so confused with how we act. The one thing that we as Christians say we follow is the real Jesus...but they see us following this fake Jesus.
And who the heck wants a fake Jesus when you can have the real One?
Following the real Jesus is not a competition between your Christian friends of who's bible looks most distressed or a race to see who will change their profile picture to a picture of themselves surrounded by little black kids in Africa first.
Following the real Jesus is a lot more simpler. This is what it looks like:
You are a Christian if...
you believe that Jesus Christ was God in human flesh, and that He came to this earth so that we might be saved through His death on the cross.
you have a relationship with the Lord, and you pursue Him each and every day.
Boom. There it is. Simple.
And as far as I'm concerned, you can have green hair, gauges, tattoos of mermaids on your arm, AND have a relationship with the Lord God Almighty.
Christianity is NOT a club, and we need to stop acting like it is. Don't get me wrong - it's okay to be a Christian and like coffee and own at least one beanie. But it's not okay to seclude others who need to know the Lord who are completely different than this stereotype. We need to reach out to people...and maybe for you that means going to Africa, or maybe it means (doing the even scarier thing than going to Africa and) talking to that girl or boy who sits next to you in class with the gauges.
Whatever it may be, listen to what the real Jesus is calling you to do. Ditch the fake Jesus.
Tell the world that they belong with us.
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