I arrived at the orphanage not long after Easter and walked into a "conversation" between a counselor and one of her charges.
The boy wanted a cord or chain for a cross pendant he had come across. He felt this would solidify his Christian status.
The counselor, a Muslim (ethnically) had apparently had it with Christianity. Or with Orthodox Christianity. Or with Christian holidays...something had ticked her off. And here she began to rant...about the cross.
It (the cross) didn't mean anything; Christianity didn't mean anything. 90% of "Christians" just went to church to light a candle and say a prayer, then go on with their hypocritical lives.
I could feel the weight of the cross necklace I had put on that morning. I don't wear one regularly; it just feels right sometimes. But I felt awkward to be wearing it at that moment.
If I had heard the comment from a random person on the street, maybe it wouldn't have bothered me. But this counselor is someone I've been trying to witness to. We're friends. I wanted to ask her, "How could you still think that about all Christians?" Not that I've been a saint, but are we all so two-faced? Are our lifestyles so obviously hypocritical?
What about my wedding? I wanted to ask. She had been a guest. The Christ-centered sermon, the church fellowship, the purity of our relationship...didn't it mean anything?
And the American families she had visited a few summers ago...they were Evangelical, Bible-believing Christians. Didn't they challenge her opinion a little bit? Or did she chalk it up to a cultural difference?
She needs to know Evangelical Christians HERE. Even as I write it, it sounds like a diagnosis, as if I could heal someone. No, only God can do that. But I wonder, if I need my social circles to overlap just a little bit more.
The boy wanted a cord or chain for a cross pendant he had come across. He felt this would solidify his Christian status.
The counselor, a Muslim (ethnically) had apparently had it with Christianity. Or with Orthodox Christianity. Or with Christian holidays...something had ticked her off. And here she began to rant...about the cross.
It (the cross) didn't mean anything; Christianity didn't mean anything. 90% of "Christians" just went to church to light a candle and say a prayer, then go on with their hypocritical lives.
I could feel the weight of the cross necklace I had put on that morning. I don't wear one regularly; it just feels right sometimes. But I felt awkward to be wearing it at that moment.
If I had heard the comment from a random person on the street, maybe it wouldn't have bothered me. But this counselor is someone I've been trying to witness to. We're friends. I wanted to ask her, "How could you still think that about all Christians?" Not that I've been a saint, but are we all so two-faced? Are our lifestyles so obviously hypocritical?
What about my wedding? I wanted to ask. She had been a guest. The Christ-centered sermon, the church fellowship, the purity of our relationship...didn't it mean anything?
And the American families she had visited a few summers ago...they were Evangelical, Bible-believing Christians. Didn't they challenge her opinion a little bit? Or did she chalk it up to a cultural difference?
She needs to know Evangelical Christians HERE. Even as I write it, it sounds like a diagnosis, as if I could heal someone. No, only God can do that. But I wonder, if I need my social circles to overlap just a little bit more.
This touched my heart. How do non-christians view me, and what can I do to live a more visibly different life that points clearly to Christ? A challenging thing to think about.
ReplyDeleteYes, and if God chooses to touch a heart, it's no thanks to any accomplishment of mine. I'm just an empty vessel for him to work THROUGH.
ReplyDeleteYou leave it all hanging; I hope the little boy got a cord for his cross. I wonder what you did or said....
ReplyDeleteDid you hear about the Biship in Scotland (I think) whose Easter message requested that all Christians proudly wear the cross. I think in England there has begun to be a bit of prejudice, even legally, with people being harrassed for wearing a cross. It was a wonderful conversation on BBC radio on the Saturday of Holy Week. I keep meaning to go back and fnd it so I can listen again.
Just came across your blog and read this post. It is hard to witness to others about the love of Christ, when we as Christian have a hard time showing it to one another. And - if we, as Christians, do not stand out as 'different' from the world, then where is our testimony of God's power to change us, mold us, shape us?
ReplyDeleteKeep up the good work. I'll check in again and will be in prayer for my fellow brother and sister in Christ from Texas!
Thank you, Sherry, for the encouraging words! We need these kinds of reminders from each other daily.
ReplyDelete