Loading...Dear Friends in Christ,
Have you ever been asked, “Are you a Christian?” If you have, what have you answered? If you haven’t been asked that question, what would you have answered? Almost everyone I know calls themselves Christian. I have some friends and acquaintances that are Jewish or of other faiths. A few even claim to be atheists.
I never thought of what it means to be a Christian until I was ordained. Having the responsibility of teaching, preaching, and caring for a flock of believers has made me be more introspective. Through my studies of the Bible and discussions with learned people, I have concluded that to be a Christian means to be Christ-like. That may sound simplistic, but I truly believe that for us to have the right to call ourselves after Christ, we have to be like him. Unfortunately, we can’t. God knows we can’t be like Christ because we are human beings which means we are flawed. What God does expect of us is to strive with all that we are and all that we have to be Christ-like.
So, what do we do? Jesus told us. He said, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the greatest and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.” That’s it. Love God with all your being and love others at least as much as you love yourself. Those are tall orders. A third directive from Jesus is just as difficult, and that is we are to spread the Gospel to all nations.
Do you go to church? Most people don’t anymore. In Tazewell County only about 30% of the population go to church on a given Sunday. One of the ways we show God that we love him is to go to church and worship and praise Him. Sometimes a people will say to me that they don’t have to go to church to worship God and that is true. But do they? Do they read scripture, pray for themselves and others, sing hymns of praise, and read a commentary on the scripture. Probably not. But going to church is only one-third of what makes us a Christian. The other two commandments from Jesus have to be done outside in our community.
We show our love by how we treat others. Not only by feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, and so forth, but by how we treat everyone, and everyone means everyone, even those we don’t like. In fact, the people we dislike the most are the ones we need to love the most. Now that is tough. We can’t do it. We really can’t do it. By ourselves. With God’s help we keep trying.
That’s the same thing about spreading the Gospel. It is tough, but we are not expected to stand on the street corner and preach. The best way to spread the word of Jesus is to live it. We are told that we should see the face of Jesus in everyone we meet, but really everyone we meet should see the face of Jesus in our face.
I pray that we all can be blessed and a blessing to all we meet.
In Christ’s Love,
Father Russ
