That question has been radiating in my mind now for weeks. God told me that there is a lost element in Christianity and it’s the Christian. What does that mean? Simple. Like so many other things in our culture and society, the definition of the word has been changed to such a degree that the very basis for what Christianity once meant no longer exists. Why you might ask? Simple. When there are no Christians, there can be no Christianity.
Christian at one time was the name that people called those that followed Christ. The name that wasn’t a name of honor but a name of mockery. The name mockingly called the group of people that would continue to follow the teachings of someone who had just been publicly crucified as a criminal. The name people were called, not the name they called themselves. The name called not based on what they said, but on what they did.
Yet, today, Christianity has taken on a new definition. No longer does it refer to a people that follow the teachings of Christ. Today it defines a group of people that follow what everyone other than Christ taught, and who have taken the name unto themselves making a living mockery out of all that Christ ever stood for. No longer does Christian define a person that lives what they believe… it now defines a person or group of people that claim to believe, yet live contrary to what they claim to believe. They take the name of Christian, referring to themselves by that name, and yet do not live the life that Christ described, nor any of the other teachings that He is supposed to have taught. The lives they live are in direct contrast to the teachings of Christ, and yet they wonder why it is that others want nothing to do with their “christianity”. How is it possible for a person to take the name of Christ, to call themselves Christian, to insist that people must believe that Christ is the son of God, the redeemer of the world, when the very people calling themselves by HIS NAME…and by a religion that is supposed to be based on His life and teaching are the furtherest thing from the lives these people live.
It is very clear… most people that call themselves Christians simply are not. They do not believe that Christ was the Son of God. They do not believe the bible is the word of God. Nor do they believe that Christ is the ensample that Christians are to follow. They have went about to adopt a way of life that differs greatly from the life of Christ, and have justified their actions and their mockery of God and His Son by saying that to be a Christian is simply to believe in Christ. That dear friend never was the reason that people in Antioch referred to the disciples as Christians, nor is it the reason today that anyone should call themselves Christian.
I am often asked if I am a Christian, and I respond, why do you ask? Then I get responses like, “if your not ashamed of God you’d answer that you are”… or “you need to be one”… or many other “classically rehersed words” that have no more meaning to the person asking the question, than does the understanding of what Christian means. Jesus said “they will know you by your fruits”, and yet so many today aren’t seeing the fruits of a Christlike life, therefore they are having to ask. Most don’t have a clear understanding of what Christian means, nor have they seen the life of Christ lived by the people claiming to be Christians, so they can’t easily recognize and have to ask. Some just ask because it’s simply what they must do to see if you’re one of their “group” or if you’re one of those they need to “convert” to their group!
If a life is not able to reflect the totality of what a person believes then taking a name to identify yourself by when you’re life isn’t speaking clearly what you believe is to be a mockery of all that is Christian. That is the core reason that so many today hate Christians. It is not because of what Christ taught. It is not because of who Christ was. It is not because of who Christ is said to have been. Most people’s hatred for Christians comes from the hypocrisy they live. They are hated because they claim to love and serve a Christ that loved everyone when they don’t. They are hated because they try to change people and convert them telling them they are worthless and undeserving when Christ nor God ever said that. They are hated because they are judgemental and full of hatred toward God’s creation, yet take the name of His Son and call themselves Christian. Look around you. You don’t have to look very far to see the hatred that’s bred by Christianity, not the religion, but the people of the religion. Why, not because of the religion itself… but because of the people that have affixed themselves to the religion, yet have turned away from and adopted a doctrine that is very far from the foundational attributes of the religion, and then have redefined the religion based on their own doctrines.
I have had the honor to travel across this wonderful country. I have yet to find one person that hates me or that has any problem with what beliefs I have, other than those claiming to be Christians. The hatred that I’ve encountered is within the churches of America, and amoung those that call themselves by the name of our God. They get highly offended when I will not follow what they teach and mandate, but insisting on hearing God and following only Him. Wonder why it is that so many that say they know God..and His will would be upset with a person who will not listen to them, but instead insists on listening to only God and encourage others to do the same?
All it takes is for one Christian to read what their Christ taught, in the book they all claim is the word of the God that sent Him, to see whether or not they really are Christian or not! It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to see that if there really were CHRISTIANS here in America today… people that were following the teachings of Christ….there would be very little hatred against them at all. How can you hate a person who puts you and your needs first? How can you hate a person that would sell the very land, houses, and possessions they own to see that you had food to eat, and a place to sleep? How could you hate a person that would not condemn you no matter what your life had been, but would sit with you and encourage you to hear God and not what a hateful society claiming to be Christian has to say about you? How could you hate a person that would refuse to be a part of building a building in your community where you’re not welcome, where you must have clothes to wear to, and who will drive right past you sitting on the street cold and hungry to go into? How can you hate a person who would stop long enough in their daily routine to say hello to you when you’re just passing by? How can you hate a person who will not exalt themselves over you simply because you don’t believe what they believe? How can you hate a person who will show you love no matter what you claim to believe, where you live, or what your social status is? How can you hate a person who values you as much a part of their God’s creation as they value themselves? How can you hate a person who would stand by you when everyone else doesn’t? I tell you… you can’t. Nor can a living soul hate Christ or the person that lives life accordingly! People in the world today do not hate Christ, nor the teachings of Christ, they hate the hypocrisy in the lives of those that have taken the name of Christ, and do not live the life He outlined. The hatred only comes toward those that don’t…. and won’t… and yet have taken the name as a mockery!! Christians aren’t hated in the world today because of their beliefs… they are hated because of the lives they live that is a direct contradiction to the teachings of Christ. There is not a person alive on this planet that can hate a person or want to cause them harm that follow what Christ lived, other than those that claim to be Christian, and yet reject the teachings of Christ.
I challenge each of you that reads this message to take a moment to look at your life. If you’re having to tell people that you’re a Christian, then you’re not. If you’re having to go to church and be taught of other men, then you’re not following the teachings of Christ. If you’re life isn’t what is defined by Christ as the way that you should live, then don’t take the name and be a mockery to all that Christ stands for! Ask God, Hear what God has to say, and stop listening to what people tell you about yourself, and about those that you are here on this wonderful planet with. We are all part of the creation of the Almighty God. No more valuable to anyone including God than the person standing, sitting, or laying next to you. No more valuable to anyone including God than the drunk or the prostitute on the side of the road you drive by on your way to your churches. No more valuable than the least of those that are here with us. It is time for us to see that and understand that being anything less than what Christ taught is being a mockery of all that He stood for… and what it is testifying to the world is that YOU’RE the one that doesn’t believe He’s the son of God… that God sent Him… nor that God is the Almighty!
You must log in to post a comment.