Hammer on Anvil '

On Valentine's Day, my husband and I took the States (what we call our children) to a local pizza buffet/arcade center. Incredible Pizza wasn't extremely busy, because most couples opt for more romantic settings for Valentine's dinner, but there were several families with the same idea we had, so we had to stand in line to order. While we waited, the man behind us began to huff and puff about the wait. His grumbling became more audible as minutes passed, and he got to a point where he was actually complaining about the fact "so many children" were there. Yeah, um, it's a pizza place with  bumper cars. Kids are to be expected, Reginald Grump.
 
The only jobs I've ever had were in retail/customer service, so my heart began to feel burdened for the one person manning the counter and the super grumps he would have to serve. To make matters more chaotic, there was some hubbub over a gluten-free pizza order. It became apparent that the guy behind the counter was actually the manager, and he was literally doing four jobs at one time. I've been there before, so I tried to be patient and extra kind to the manager when it was our turn at the register. Shortly after we ordered our game cards and began to proceed to buffet glory, we heard the man behind us yell once more at the obviously overworked manager because he had to wait, like everyone else.

Ugh. I so often want to hit those types of people in the face with a chair, but that sorta negates the "be kind" mission I am on. So I just said a quick prayer for peace for the manager and I gave Reginald Grump the "you're in trouble" glare I have mastered since being a mother.

With pizza consumed, I made a dash to the dessert buffet for a gooey cinnamon roll and cup of coffee. The Reginald Grump, as now he will be forever called, was standing at the other side, complaining about the lack of options on the buffet. There were, no joke, four huge covered tables brimming with food. This guy was just a complainer and we all know how God feels about complainers (Numbers 14). I don't like confrontation and I knew that nothing I could say could melt Reginald Grump's cold heart, so I did what any respectful lady tempted to reprimand would do: I glared more intensely and slowly shook my head at him. Then I saw it: He was wearing a Christian t-shirt.

Rage. There is no excuse for his behavior, but the fact he had a shirt on that claimed my Savior makes his offense absolutely grave. People, this is the image of the American Christian church. To the world we are huffed up on ill-perceived holiness, boasting about a generic faith through copyright infringement t-shirts and impossibly hateful attitudes. Our shirts say "Jesus," but our actions yell "@%#*%$*." That's taking the Lord's name in vain, friends. We have got to stop it.

Believers, the sub-culture we have created by playing it safe has left us with a great void of actual culture and no sense of how to treat people. Our idea of "edginess" is stealing junk food slogans and adding Jesus, and we think that since our clothing boasts His name, we don't actually have to be kind to others. That's absurd. We are supposed to, as believers, have a direct line to the Creator, so why, WHY are we so sans creativity and compassion?

True talk: I tried to listen to our local Christian radio station last week. Two songs in and I was running to my Macklemore Pandora playlist for some much needed flavor. Seriously, our faith looks bland, boring and apparently real grumpy. That's crazy, guys. We are doing this all wrong.

Church, the things we did, and often still do, to separate ourselves from nonbelievers are pretty much what the Pharisees were doing all along. Read Matthew 6 and tell me that is not how the American church sounds. It's true and if it hurts your feelings, you are in good company. I can't tell you how much I want to break free from the chains of bland faith, boring culture and safe worship. Seriously, I have had enough. If the Lord is not present in how we treat others or how we talk to strangers, then there is nothing that separates us from nonbelievers. Just because you wear that t-shirt, or go to church, or think Halloween is evil does not make you a Christian. It's His presence in our life, in our actions, in how we treat others, that sets us apart.

Look at the example Jesus gave us! How did he treat others? With grace and compassion. For everyone. Sure, He turned the tables over, but read the words in Matthew 21. He was angry at the church -- at the people who claimed to be set apart, but did not have the Lord's presence in their lives. Friends, revival is coming. If we don't change, God is gonna start flipping tables over.

In my church we are going through some hefty changes and transitions. God is renovating people, cleaning house and making His presence known, but with revival comes opposition from the enemy. And boy howdy do I feel it. Believers, there is no simple way to say it: If you are making efforts to be closer to the Lord, you will be attacked. If you are not being attacked you are playing it safe and are not considered a threat. I can say, most certainly, that my church is under attack and I know it's because the people are crying out for the Lord and abandoning the things we thought set us apart. As soon as we began to press into the Lord, we started seeing the individual attacks from the destroyer. Health, finances, cars, relationships. Things are getting wonky. Or as my friend said during her recent attack, "Whoa. Things is gettin' real." But we knew this was going to happen. Spiritual warfare is real, so put on the armor of God and quit complaining. Yes, things are difficult, but odd as it sounds, we should be encouraged with these attacks. It means we are doing something right.

I want to encourage you. Simply, act like Jesus, don't wear t-shirts that say Jesus, but look like the Reese's slogan. Seek the Lord and make your faith mean something -- something that can't be bought at mall kiosk. But remember when your faith means something you become a threat and you will be attacked. That's going to suck, but you will develop perseverance and when perseverance is complete you will be mature, lacking in nothing (James 1:1-8). And let's call it like it is, Reginald Grump was immature and lacking in lots. Friends, don't be that guy. Our churches are overflowing with those people. Let's start clothing ourselves in the character of Christ and leave the embarrassing shirts in the rubbage bin where they belong.

As our church choir has been moving through the Advent season, one of the songs we've been rehearsing has challenged my perception. I have identified very strongly with Jesus' mother, Mary, in the story of His birth. As a young, inexperienced teenager, I feel her uncertainty at what lies before her. As a woman, I wonder what it must have been like to have a marriage arranged for me. As a mother, I know how difficult it would be to endure watching my child suffer the way Jesus did.

This beautiful piece of music reminds me that the story of Christ's birth, life and death contained even more dimensions for Mary than these things I can empathize with. The chorus truly sums up the unique position she found herself in, and is a wonderful picture of the heart of Jesus. "I'll hold you in the beginning, you will hold me in the end."  Enjoy.

In his book, Mere Christianity, C.S. Lewis shares an intriguing argument known as the trilemma. Basically, Lewis asserts that we cannot accept Jesus as simply a great moral teacher because he did not leave that option open to us. We can either accept that he was a liar (for claiming he was God), a lunatic (for claiming and believing that he was God), or the Lord. Jesus himself left no other option open to us.

This argument certainly still holds true for many people today, but it is not the primary focus of this post. Rather, this is one example of a larger issue: that Christians and non-Christians alike often add things or subtract things from Christ’s character to the point that, in the end, he becomes little more than an imaginary friend.

There are a variety of reasons why this happens. In America, I’d argue that one of the biggest reasons is that people don’t take the time to get to know Jesus. We learn about him in Sunday school as kids and think that is sufficient to get us by. When we grow up, Jesus joins the ranks of Santa Clause and the Easter Bunny – great imaginary friends for children, but nothing more. And just as we can go to Santa for gifts at Christmas, we can go to Jesus whenever it serves our needs. But this image isn’t real. It is a forgery, a custom tailored suit made to fit who we want to be without requiring anything but lip service in return.

But this isn’t the only example of molding Christ into an imaginary friend.

At a Bible study a few months ago, our group was discussing how it’s a shame that churches don’t work together more often. It seems that we focus on our differences much more often than our similarities. This would probably be a good topic for a future post, but for now, I mention this because it was the foundation for this post. It forced me to think.

When we look at the different denominations in the church, do our similarities really outweigh our differences? Each denomination makes choices about what they believe. We would hope that these choices are solely based on the Bible and that the differences among denominations are nothing more than differences in Biblical interpretation. But this is not always the case. And even when it is the case, interpretation in itself can distort the Truth. To over-simplify my point, I could interpret that two plus two equals five, but that does not make it true. Satan’s one and only weapon is deception. Why would he only use that weapon outside the church and never within?

So my point is this. Since we know that different denominations believe different things about Jesus, at what point do those beliefs become so different from Jesus’ true character that it is no longer Jesus they are worshipping, but an imaginary friend? The Mormon church claims to be Christian, but they have vastly added to the Bible, and so added to/modified who Christ was. Are those modifications significant enough that it is no longer Christ they are following? Westboro Baptist Church claims to be Christian, but they protest at military funerals with signs saying “God Hates Fags.” Are they following the true Christ?

It’s easy to see where the line is drawn with these examples, but things get fuzzier when we look at churches that we would consider to be “normal.” I don’t claim to have an answer to the question underlined above. But I feel strongly that it is something we must consider, if for no other reason than for each of us to “examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith; test yourselves.” (2 Corinthians 13:5)

So the question I pose to you is this: What elements are so foundational to the character of Jesus Christ that they cannot be taken away or added to without transforming Jesus into an imaginary friend?