Extremists for hate or love?

“When people heard the word ‘Christian’, they stopped in their tracks. I will never forget their responses: “fake,” “hypocrites,” “church,” “boring”. One guy even said, “used-to-be.” I will never forget what they didn’t say. Not one of the people we asked that days said “love.” No one said “grace”. No one said “community.”

I've been spending time thinking about what I want to define me. It's a hard question. And, honestly, the answer that has emerged has been even harder. I am CALLED to be a counter-culture Christian. I am to be a lover of God. A lover of people around me. A friend of mine and I have a joke that if we have children together, among other things they will be free love Christan hippie children. Why is this idea so funny? When did we become so cut off from one another that it has become inappropriate to extend our hand to each other in love? Or hug? Christ TOUCHED the world around him, so why aren't we? We are living in a society today that is calling to be touched. Babies can die if they are not touched enough in the first few months of life. God has created us so that touch is vital to our existence. I would argue that we all need to be touched. When did it become holy to avoid the people around us and have a hands off approach? I am to forgive and extend grace. It is not my job to decide who deserves grace. I can tell you the answer to that question. No one. Including me. Let that thought set in for a minute. NO ONE. Yet, God has given us grace anyway. Think about the parable of the servant who was forgiven his debt by his master only to turn around and demand to be repaid by a fellow servant. This, my friends, should NOT be us, yet it is. It's time for a change. Extend grace. I am to be involved in the world around me. I just read this poorly exegeted devotional from 1 Corinthians yesterday that said Paul is claiming that we will become messy and unholy if we interact with the world outside of the church. No. God did NOT fashion you and place you on this earth just so you can sit in your safe Christian circle until God takes you to Heaven. One of the phrases that is thrown around by Christians about themselves is that "I am an ambassador for Jesus Christ." The funny thing about ambassadors is that they are responsible for being in another society and representing the home nation. How are we doing? Are we interacting with society around us and accurately representing Christ? I am to be vocal in word and action. This does not mean saying whatever I desire. It means spilling Christ all over this world. I am to have a heart that beats and breaks with the heart of God. I am to strive for authentic community. I am to be the person that God has created me to be. So why is all of this so hard? Because it is calling me to be dangerous. It is calling me to be a radical every day. But doing anything less is straying from who God has made me to be.

“We’d rather teach the person a lesson of justice than a lesson of love.”

This line jumped off the page at me, mostly because of some issues that have emerged at school with a friend of mine who has to be punished for something that he has done. But the entire time, as the higher ups debate about how to deal with him, I've been asking myself where the hallmarks of Christianity are - love, grace, and forgiveness? I've been dialogueing with a few people about this and the reoccurring comment that my friend needs to be punished keeps coming up and I agree. But what if we are so focused on seeking justice that we are punishing someone more then God ever would. Is it still okay? Or is this some breed of sin all its own? And why do I have the power to punish a fellow Christian? Do I really have that right? I feel like Paul advocates for it, but I'm not so sure about Christ (we can talk about the distinctions between Paul and Christ that have become blurred some other day). I feel that if any aspect of the trinity punishes us it is out of love, not to seek justice for what I have done against them or I would be dead. Isn't that what I deserve? So if God extends his grace to me on a daily basis, why can't I extend that to my brothers and sisters in Christ? Why can't I extend that to the "secular" world? I am branded with love and it has changed my life. We need more people to look down at their hands and see the nail marks of Christ that cry "I forgive you and its enough".

“The greatest cause of atheism is Christians who acknowledge Jesus with their lips, then walk out the door and deny him with their lifestyle. That is what an unbelieving world simply finds unbelievable.” – Brennan Manning

I recently wrote a paper where I claimed that a group of people that are usually considered to be a cult may be Christians. I don't know how I feel about writing that now. When I tell people the stance that I took in the paper they generally want to argue with me about why we to defend what Christian is. Yes, I agree we do. But I'd rather claim that this group of people are Christians because of their piety and love for people and Christ then the majority of people I see on a daily basis. I'd rather be associated with a group of people who are extremist for love and reach out to a hurting world then people who gossip and verbally tear each other down in the pew next to me right after praying.
In this same paper I made a statement that I haven't told very many people. "there are times that I wish that people would not have the view of "Christians" that is linked to other mainline denominations as well." I do not claim to have the exclusive piece of Christianity, rather over the last couple of weeks I've toyed with not being associated with Christianity as a religion at all. I would much rather be just a passionate lover of Jesus. Isn't that what a Christian used to be? When did we lose that? Can we ever go back?

“The only thing harder than hatred is love. The only thing harder than war is peace. The only thing that takes more work, tears and sweat then division is reconciliation. But what more beautiful things could we devote our loves to?”