This is my attempt at a sweet and sour or bittersweet face
By Steven Dresselhaus, March 2028
I have been hanging around with Christians for going on 69 years now. During these almost seven decades, I have observed a whole bunch of things I don’t like about us. But I have also been overwhelmed by the vast, immeasurable good that I have observed and experienced: the love, beauty, energy, compassion, service, and good old-fashioned decency of those Jesus followers who do just that—follow Jesus.
Jesus never told us to start churches, denominations, religious orders, or—even, believe it or not—to become “Christians.” He never told us to debate, argue with, or insult others with the intent of converting them. His instructions were to believe him, follow him, receive him, obey him, make disciples for him, love him, and love and serve others while we wait for him to return. Jesus told us, “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven” (Matthew 5:16, KJV). Not even the most devout, preachy, faith-filled atheist would complain about what Jesus actually told us to do.
Doing what he told us to do gives us a new and active way of living that makes possible a fresh break from our past, gives us a life worth living in the present, and guarantees a future filled with excitement, promise, and—most important-purpose. My friends who pretend to loathe all things Christian and who complain most vociferously about Christians typically lead angry, arrogant, gullible, judgmental, and unhappy lives. They feign happiness by keeping so busy—rushing from one activity to the next—thus allowing themselves to hide from reality by kicking the can of their misery, fear, and loneliness a few more steps down the road. But when those lonely, quiet times come—and they always do, and they always will—those moments when reality can no longer be denied, the misery and tragedy of their purposeless lives rise to the surface. Our service to them is to model a Christlike life and to help them discover what following Jesus really means. Only by following Jesus will we erase the ill-conceived stereotypes they have of us.
As followers of Jesus, our purpose in life is to work toward unity and the “reconciliation of all things” (Colossians 1). If we Christians did this, we would not be hated.* We would be like the early church, of which it is said in Acts chapter two that “They worshiped together at the Temple each day, met in homes for the Lord’s Supper, and shared their meals with great joy and generosity, all the while praising God and enjoying the goodwill of all the people. And each day the Lord added to their fellowship those who were being saved.” Another text tells us to “Be careful to live properly among your unbelieving neighbors. Then even if they accuse you of doing wrong, they will see your honorable behavior, and they will give honor to God when he judges the world.”1 Peter 2:12 (New Living Translation).
Reconciliation and its resulting unity are among the most important threads running continuously from Genesis through Revelation. God’s passion for unity—revealed in his own triune nature—is what we honor as we seek to obey him by doing what we can to promote the reconciliation of all things.
At this point, I know that I am supposed to say something about our purpose being to do everything for the “glory of God.” I am all for a whispered “thank you, Lord,” or a heartfelt ”praise God.” But giving God glory is far more than a feeling or an emotion, and it is certainly not a throwaway phrase. Giving glory to God is kinetic; it is action. I suspect that giving glory to God through an act of loving kindness to a person in need delights the Lord more than any emotion I may feel with raised hands and guitar chords in a minor key in a trendy, dimly lit, painted black sanctuary. If I am not careful, this style of worship becomes all about me and the cool things I am feeling. We must never confuse worship of King Jesus with manufactured mood alteration.
Being the Body of Christ gives us the privilege of living in such a way that more people will be reconciled and drawn to Jesus. It is our calling to work toward bringing people back together in love and friendship. It is our privilege to work at restoring the environment to its pre-sin condition. It is our privilege to work toward restoring work to its original pleasant status by eliminating corruption in all its forms. It is the job of the Body of Christ to work at restoring physical health to a world buried in pain and fear.
Our good and exciting lives are what people must see, but that does not absolve us from needing to express verbally who we are and why we do what we do. However, there is a right way and a wrong way to verbally express our trust in Jesus. Peter puts it this way: “Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect” (1 Peter 3:15, NIV). Are our lives cool enough that people notice and ask us why we are who we are?
Bottom line? I get angry at arrogant, argumentative, and superior Christians—those who want people to become Christians by defeating them. At the same time, I am busting my shirt with pride (Christ-honoring pride, of course) at the many millions of Jesus followers whose lives emulate the life of Jesus. King Jesus didn’t just teach us how to live; he showed us how to live and he expects us to become like him. “Whoever claims to live in him must live as Jesus did.” – 1 John 2:6
* How do we reconcile being seen with favor by everyone with Jesus’s words when he says in Matthew 10:22 “You will be hated by everyone because of me, but the one who stands firm to the end will be saved.” Many people, particularly those with a merit-based concept of salvation, will vehemently reject Christ’s declaration of exclusivity when he says that “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” John 10:46. We who follow Jesus will at times be hated for our beliefs, but we must never be hated because of our behavior.
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