Those questions began to rumble about in me this morning after a time of rest from the long trip to Kenya and back. We all live in cultures where we become numb to the cultural nuances of our faith lived in a society. Not everything we believe is correct. Not everything we do is right, so how should I live? What about me should be private? What should the world see?

Immediately I think about Jesus’ words in John 13. These words really bother me because they tell me something about me and they tell me that God has put in the minds and hearts of those who are not Christians what they SHOULD see in my life. It’s really very simple, but very convicting. Here is what should be seen,

John 13:34 “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. 35 By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”

The command is simple and clear, isn’t it? We are to love one another. That’s it. Simple, clear, evident….but did you see HOW we are to do this? That’s where the rub comes, “As I have loved you,” The model for this is how Jesus lived and walked in a fallen world. That’s how we are to love others as well. That’s what they should see! If they don’t see me loving them as Jesus did then I have failed!

But here’s the part that bothers me the most. It’s as if God has placed in the world’s common mindset what this should look like. The lost man, the atheist knows what I should live like. God built it into him to know what a Christians should look like and when we don’t live that way they become bitter, angry and reject Christ. Did you see what Jesus said in verse 35? “By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” The world knows what a Christian should look like in the public square. We should be men and women in love with those around us. It’s the mark of the Christian. It’s the sign that what we believe is true. It’s the lifestyle that will silence a watching world.

So, what should be private? Honestly, most of my Christian life should be private. What should be public? My love for others.

Let’s turn down the volume on lifestyles, morals, what people should do, what they shouldn’t and let’s live out these simple verses. I wonder, if a few believers ever did take Jesus’ words seriously, what might happen around them….I wonder.

image via www.freedigitalphoto.net

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You’ve met them, haven’t you? Stupid people. They are everywhere! As I think about these people I realize that they get this title because they don’t agree with me! It’s our way to deal with the dissonance in our lives when we run into someone who is different, believes different things, lives a different lifestyle. If they don’t fit with our worldview they are just plain stupid!

But honestly, they would probably think the same thing about you! From their view of the world they would call you stupid. This description of people is a wonderfully large bucket we use to dismiss the lives and thoughts of others…they’re just stupid. They don’t know any better. If they knew what I knew they wouldn’t do that, say that, live that way, believe that….but they don’t, they aren’t, so we have to deal with them and we simply dismiss them.

Wouldn’t it be amazing to ask, “Would you tell me about your life? I would really like to know why and how you have come to where you are.” With that question we have dismissed our fears and resolved the dissonance with the realization that this is a real person that Christ died for. They might be different, think different and even live different from you, but they are people God loves….we should do the same. The only stupid person is the one who sees a political party, a religion, a category and misses the person.

Those we often put in the category of “stupid people” are the very ones Jesus would have been drawn to. He would hang out with them, love them and spend time with them…..and most of us, like the Pharisees, would raise an eyebrow and be irritated with Jesus for wasting his time, but remember…..he “wasted his time” on us.

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