evidence
Recently, I've been thinking back to a saying that greatly informed my faith during high school... "If you were on trial for being a Christian, would there be enough evidence to convict you?"The thoughts that have led to this thinking...
I was listening to a sermon talking about an anecdote from "Walk the Line." I haven't seen the movie, so it was the first time I'd heard it. Trying to make a comeback, Johnny goes to his record producer and says that he wants to record an album in a prison. The producer replies that the only fans he has left are Christians and Christians don't want to hear him playing in a prison. Johnny responds, "Then they aren't Christians."
On a recent Friday afternoon, one of my students, who I've taught for 3 years, came by to say hi as she was withdrawing from school. She is being sent to a boarding school and was very apprehensive because they will require her to attend chapel and to pray. I wasn't really sure how to respond. "It won't be that bad" didn't really seem appropriate. Instead I said, "Have an open mind about it." She then informed me that she did not expect her new teachers to like her because they would be so conservative. I told her that I was a lot more conservative than she thought I was and I still loved her. She just gave me a funny look.
In a sermon a couple of months ago, Bob gave an illustration from the life of Augustine. He took one of his proteges out with him (into Hippo, I suppose) to witness for the day. They went about town, bought stuff at the market, talked to people they ran into. At the end of the day, his protege asked when they were going to witness. Augustine replied something to the effect that they had been witnessing all day with their actions. "Preach the gospel always, when necessary use words."
Most of my friends at school know that I am a Christian. I talk on a regular basis about doing things with my church, but rarely does the occassion arise where using words is necessary or even it seems, appropriate. Yet I do feel that I proclaim the gospel through my actions. I've lately been realizing what a shift in thinking this is for me. Granted, it has been occurring over the last 10+ years, but my thinking about the gospel has totally changed.
Yet I do feel that I proclaim the gospel through my actions. Yesterday, I spent 2 hours tutoring one of my hardest, most sullen students in geometry. I'm an English teacher. This is what it means for me to preach the gospel.
Do I think that others would necessarily recognize my actions as particularly Christian? I doubt it- they are not what the world or mainstream Christianity defines as declaring the gospel.
"'He defended the cause of the poor and needy,
and so all went well.
Is that not what it means to know me?'"
declares the LORD."
Jeremiah 22:16
posted by CP @ 11:24 AM
9 thoughts
9 Comments:
The last paragraph seems to raise the hardest point--to preach the gospel in acts means that the audience has to have some sort of sense of what an act means, right? So there seems to be two difficulties. Not only does the world not recognize "charitable acts" (for lack of a better phrase) as gospel because of a poor understanding/experience of the gospel, but, even if they didn't have this handicap, is there something about charitable acts generally that Christians have a current monopoly on? That is, even if the world didn't associate proclamation of the gospel with televangelism, is it likely that it would still think there was something distinctively Christian about a charitable act? Is there something distinctively Christian about a charitable act?
that's a dilly of a question. (not laura) i wonder if maybe we have to accept that the world won't know and be okay with that. that we should do all things as for the Lord and not for man. i get a little tripped up sometimes with the intent of my actions.
am i doing something nice for someone because i am trying to put on the loving Christian show, or because i really truly care?
it's too late in the night for me to think any further.
i'll leave it to nathan "elder in training" smith to figure this out.
and i know that it's not why you posted all this, but thank you for serving.
I totally agree, courtney: being a teacher offers so many opportunities to serve others, going above and beyond your duty. The old cliche is true: They won't care what you know until they know that you care. Jesus says it this way: This is how they will know you are my disciples: that you love one another (John 13:35). If you keep showing your love, God will give you an opportunity to share the gospel. Also, I think He gives a lot of women, especially, the gift to serve others (Tabitha, Martha, etc.).
Mr. Prufrock, no, it doesn't seem that Christians have or should have a monopoly on charity- should have a larger piece of the charitable pie and maybe then the world might recognize them as gospel. But I do think there is something distinctly Christian about a charitable act- charity=love and God is love. Calvin says something to the effect of "If the Spirit is the sole fountain of truth, then rejecting the truth anywhere is dishonoring the Spirit." I'm thinking something along those lines...
Good thoughts Ken, that's why you're my hero. And happy birthday!
And Kim- I must admit I do freak out at those opportunities to share... its much easier to do the first half of that axion.
If I was on trial for being a christian, I wouldn't be able to speak because I'd be covered in jesus blood and everybody would be grossed out.
thank you for putting it all in perspective, mr murphy
Is there something distinctly Christian about a charitable act? I think the answer has to be no, and yes. No because "charitable act" may mean act that appears charitable, that is, an act that is seemingly altruistic and gratuitous as the world understands those qualities. Yes because charity is the highest theological virtue, that quality which allows one to be actually altruistic and gratuitous. The tough part seems to be that the former way of looking at a charitable act is generally speaking, good enough.
So, how this cashes out to me seems to be like this: Christian charity is clearly so (i.e., Christian) when it doesn't make sense. In early Rome, this meant the Christians saving the infants that had been left out to die--this act didn't make sense to the Romans, but there it was, the infants received a gratuitious gift that didn't seemingly benefit those giving it. I guess I conclude that the definitive quality of Christian charity is meaningful sacrifice, sacrifice that is of such an extent that it doesn't make sense according to the standards in which the sacrifice takes place.
i found this fiddling around online.
Philemon 1:6 And I keep praying that this faith we hold in common keeps showing up in the good things we do, and that people recognize Christ in all of it.
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