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I was reading a book not too long ago, and the authors stated in their introduction that they knew that they were very critical in many of their statements, but they asked the readers to overlook the exact words and tone and believe that fundamentally, in their hearts, they thought highly of and loved the people they were being critical of. At first glance, this seems OK. You know, "I may not be using the right words or tones, and it may seem I'm angry, but really I'm not. I really love you." But at a second glance, it doesn't make sense at all. If your words and tone aren't representing your heart, then why are you using them? Often we don't want people to judge us by what we do, but by what we intended or what we say we believe.
It is interesting that Jesus never took the time to write a book. He wasn't interested in defining a doctrine, or presenting a comprehensive definition of who God is or what God wanted. Instead he provided a picture --- his life. Jesus said if you want to know what God is like then look at my life. He said that those who had "seen" (interesting word) him had also "seen" the Father. Jesus didn't say look at my philosophy of life or doctrine of religion. He said look at me. Today, we are given the responsibility of being the picture of God for our culture and times. It is both a corporate and an individual responsibility. Corporately, we are "the Body of Christ", and who we are, what we do, and how we live as a community is to be a picture, a representation, of who God is and how God acts. Individually, we are to be formed into the image of the Son "in ever increasing measure." It is an on-going process; but there should be a process of transformation in our lives that is a picture to others of what Christ is like and how He can change our lives. The problem is we want those outside the Kingdom to look at what we believe and not at how we live. Like the authors of the book I was reading, we say don't listen to our words and our tone, but look at what we say we believe and understand our intentions. But the world around us is not interested in reading a book (even a book which claims to be the divine revelation of the one true God). Nor are they interested in a doctrine of religion or system of belief. They want to see a life that is meaningful and different, a life where love, goodness, peace, joy and truth are real things and not just a dream. We must be the image of God, the true Body of Christ, if we want to be relevant to a world that is still in darkness and is hopelessly searching for answers. I know this is a difficult, if not impossible, demand. The purpose of this sharing is not to make us feel bad about who we are or what we have done, but to motivate us to become more like him and to allow his Holy Spirit to live in us and through us. We, as a community, need to have an unquenchable desire to be open to the Spirit and to allow Him to transform us into what we need to be. As individuals, we need to be hungry for His work in our lives. And when we do fail, don't use our imperfection as an excuse, but let it be the beginning of an apology. "I didn't mean to act like that. God is still working with me in this area. I'm sorry that I said (or did or had the attitude or whatever) this. Forgive me. I love you. I really want to be like the Christ I follow, and be a representation of His love and presence." I wonder what the world would say if the Church, if we as proclaimed followers of Christ, did this instead of justifying ourselves through comparisons. Maybe, just maybe, we would then really be representing Christ to the world. It's something to think about.
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Comment by Overseer on 2007-08-24 00:10:35
Some people will take personal offense at anything you say regardless of the words you use or the intentions, you know. I see this especially among atheists concerning anything a Christian says, and vice versa. |
Comment by Brandy on 2007-10-17 22:03:21
Ouch! This is a hard one for me. It's true that some people will be offended no matter what I say, but I find much more prevalent that I am far too critical and judgmental and I can only imagine the damage I've done to Christ's image. This type of person- me- is the very person I despise in the church. But I am guilty also. Ouch. That's my response. I've got some [more] work to do... |
Comment by GUEST on 2007-10-19 20:37:42
After rereading the message above, along with Bruce's response, I am in a quandry as to how we "interpret" the sayings of the author. Just as we each have our own interpretation of what Jesus said and the way his life was lived. Maybe the authors wanted us to be more tolerant of their viewpoints and to look as Bruce says - "their actions, more than their words". I find many people with opposing viewpoints are quick to misinterpret your words. To try and use them in a defensive mode against the other's viewpoint, instead of letting them sink in, formulating a different opinion and maybe creating an atmosphere of dialogue based on clarification of terms or comments.
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Comment by Brandy on 2007-10-22 11:23:23
I do think that we should look at actions more than words, but when writing a book, in particular, words are all you have.
There are times when what I've said has been heard by someone and found offensive, when it wasn't meant to be offensive at all. But, that person didn't see my facial expressions, which would have given a different reaction.
So, I think it can go 2-ways. One, we shouldn't be quick to judge at first glance what may be an innocent statement that maybe didn't come across the way it was intended. But two, we should think about things before we say them and not use our ignorance or impatience as an excuse to say whatever we want. |
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