Church....the other white meat.

"Us" and "them". "You" and "Us". "Churched" and "Unchurched". "In" and "out". I'm beginning to rethink how I refer to myself as a follower of Jesus and how I refer to people who don't. As a Christian, I've heard, and even said it myself, that we are Christians and therefore, we're on the inside. My thinking for a long time was that since I'm a Christian, I'm in. In the truth, in the faith, in the plan of God, in store for eternity...you get the picture. Of course if I was a Christian and I was "in", then that would mean that someone who is not a Christian is on the "outside". Now scripture does talk about people who believe and those who don't. People who love God and those who don't.
But I see in the “church” an attitude of “Hey, God’s in here [the church] and you’re out there!” A kind of thinking that says Truth and all that God is, is only found within the church or within a group of Christians. I used to think this way. One time I was “preaching” (I think that’s such a silly word…PREACH!!!) about reaching out and going to the “world” with God. Did you catch that? I was saying “We have God so let’s take him ‘there’!” As if God isn’t…..there. Yet the Bible says that the Earth is the Lord’s and everything in it. He’s everywhere. You may think “So? What’s the big deal with that kind of attitude?”
Well, I think that sometimes we portray to people that the church/Christians have absolute truth and no else has any. I know, some may read this and baulk. “Of course we have the truth! Jesus IS truth! If someone rejects Jesus, then they reject truth!” Yeah….sorta.
Let’s say person Q is driving down the road and sees a lady broken down on the side of the road. Hood up, hazard lights on. Let’s say that person Q feels sorry for the lady on the side of the road b/c it’s getting dark, she’s got an infant in the back seat and it’s cold outside. So person Q pulls over to help. Person Q assesses the situation and uses his or her cell phone to call for a tow truck. Then offers the lady and her baby a seat in their warm car while they wait for the truck. Now, forgetting that one really shouldn’t do that from a safety “don’t get abducted” point of view, what would you think about person Q? I mean let’s say that person Q is NOT a mechanic, NOT a super hero and….NOT a Christian. Would you say that person Q did something good? Did person Q do something compassionate? Did person Q live out truth? Yes times 3. But person Q ISN’T A CHRISTIAN. How could he/she do something “true” or “good”?
See, when I read the scriptures, especially about Jesus I see some things different. I don’t see Jesus saying to people “You can’t come to the hillside, until you believe the way we do.” I hear Jesus saying things like “Come to me ALL who are tired and I’ll give you rest.” I mean look at His life. He got accused of being a drunkard and glutton b/c of the company He kept. He hung out with tax collectors, prostitutes and uneducated fishermen (if you like to fish, don’t be offended….the first disciples were fishermen and they really were uneducated….I like fish….and shrimp). Jesus didn’t come to establish a holiness club. He didn’t come and love, live, die and rise for us to build four walls, put up a sign and then say “You there…us here. Line drawn.” He came to show us that ultimate reality IS God and IS everywhere. Now, I am NOT saying that God is IN the trees and water and termites. But all of creation does reflect Him.
Why am I rambling on about this? Because I’m tired of Christians living in a bubble. And I’m tired of people who don’t follow Jesus thinking that “they” don’t belong. I know that when it comes down to it, you can’t really erase completely the labels. There is a HUGE difference between Christian and non (I don’t even like that term). But I wonder what would happen if the average Christian viewed the “world” not as evil, but as belonging to God. Not the “world” as in the anti-God, anti-truth systems/philosophies/ideals, but the “world” as in people and places.
Go outside tomorrow and ask yourself “Am I at home right now? Or am I really waiting to go somewhere else?” If your answer is to go to Heaven, great….and not so great. Don’t forget that one day, the Earth will be your home forever. Read the end of the Book. In fact, I’ve been surprised to see that God started out after making it all He visited the Earth, then He came to fix some things and one day, He’ll move in for good.

Chew for while.