Jacob
2008-04-21 02:10:48 UTC
Some 'great' men of the world have said, "I admire Christ. It's
Christians I can't bear with." Or, "These Christians talk great
things, but their lives are nowhere near." Of course it is a rebuke at
us Christians, meaning that we are not good representatives of our
Lord. Each of us bears the blame because the world has been
disappointed with us many times, to see us behave just like or
sometimes worse than non-Christians around us. Every genuine Christian
is burdened with the knowledge that our lives are always coming short
of what they should be (Ro.7:15-24). But at the same time we must also
remember that when these 'great' men make statements like these there
is usually more behind it than what appears on the surface.
Even though it sounds as if they admire Christ, they are not willing
to receive Him or accept all that He did or said. They are in fact
rejecting Him by saying that even though they like certain things that
He did and said, they don't like some other things He said. For
example very few are willing to agree that Jesus is the only way to
the Father (Jn.14:6;Ac.4:12). If anyone believes this, it would
revolutionise his life and perspective altogether. Those who 'admire'
Christ don't want to admit that they need to be born again (Jn.3:3,5).
They think that they are already good enough. In many ways like this,
these people do not want to 'accept' Christ for what He claimed to be.
They admire His words and acts of love, mercy, kindness, non-violence,
self-sacrifice, etc., but they do not accept Him as the Son of God or
the only Saviour of the world. It is really not the Christians who
have put them off, but Christ Himself!
The claims of Christ prick their conscience. They don't want to face
up to the pain of acknowledging that they are sinners who need a
Saviour. They don't want to give up some of their sinful pleasures or
sinful means of gain. Rather than admit these facts they have found
themselves a respectable excuse!
Yes, we Christians have our faults, many of them. But we are
individually responsible for them. No one can blame Christ for
everything that His followers do wrong. If anyone wants, he himself
has the opportunity to follow Christ and demonstrate a better life
than what other Christians have managed to! Instead, people are using
the faults of frail human beings like us as an excuse for rejecting
the Son of God who lived without any fault!
On the other hand, these critics fail to take into account the
innumerable examples of Christians who have blessed the world around
them with their lives! In fact, one of the reasons why many people
have come to Christ is that they saw and marvelled at the lives of
some of His followers. Even societies where Christians are a minority
have been much blessed through the sacrifices of these Christians. Let
us Christians continue in such good works. One day the world will
acknowledge our God who gave us such hearts to love Him and our
neighbours (Mt.5:16).
Christians I can't bear with." Or, "These Christians talk great
things, but their lives are nowhere near." Of course it is a rebuke at
us Christians, meaning that we are not good representatives of our
Lord. Each of us bears the blame because the world has been
disappointed with us many times, to see us behave just like or
sometimes worse than non-Christians around us. Every genuine Christian
is burdened with the knowledge that our lives are always coming short
of what they should be (Ro.7:15-24). But at the same time we must also
remember that when these 'great' men make statements like these there
is usually more behind it than what appears on the surface.
Even though it sounds as if they admire Christ, they are not willing
to receive Him or accept all that He did or said. They are in fact
rejecting Him by saying that even though they like certain things that
He did and said, they don't like some other things He said. For
example very few are willing to agree that Jesus is the only way to
the Father (Jn.14:6;Ac.4:12). If anyone believes this, it would
revolutionise his life and perspective altogether. Those who 'admire'
Christ don't want to admit that they need to be born again (Jn.3:3,5).
They think that they are already good enough. In many ways like this,
these people do not want to 'accept' Christ for what He claimed to be.
They admire His words and acts of love, mercy, kindness, non-violence,
self-sacrifice, etc., but they do not accept Him as the Son of God or
the only Saviour of the world. It is really not the Christians who
have put them off, but Christ Himself!
The claims of Christ prick their conscience. They don't want to face
up to the pain of acknowledging that they are sinners who need a
Saviour. They don't want to give up some of their sinful pleasures or
sinful means of gain. Rather than admit these facts they have found
themselves a respectable excuse!
Yes, we Christians have our faults, many of them. But we are
individually responsible for them. No one can blame Christ for
everything that His followers do wrong. If anyone wants, he himself
has the opportunity to follow Christ and demonstrate a better life
than what other Christians have managed to! Instead, people are using
the faults of frail human beings like us as an excuse for rejecting
the Son of God who lived without any fault!
On the other hand, these critics fail to take into account the
innumerable examples of Christians who have blessed the world around
them with their lives! In fact, one of the reasons why many people
have come to Christ is that they saw and marvelled at the lives of
some of His followers. Even societies where Christians are a minority
have been much blessed through the sacrifices of these Christians. Let
us Christians continue in such good works. One day the world will
acknowledge our God who gave us such hearts to love Him and our
neighbours (Mt.5:16).