Gandhi and Reverend Andrews, a Presbyterian missionary, were walking together in South Africa. “The two suddenly find their way blocked by young thugs. Reverend Andrews takes one look at the menacing gangsters and decides to run for it. Gandhi stops him. ‘Doesn’t the New Testament say if an enemy strikes you on the right cheek you should offer him the left?’ Andrews mumbles that he thought the phrase was used metaphorically. ‘I’m not so sure,’ Gandhi replies. ‘I suspect he meant you must show courage - be willing to take a blow, several blows, to show you will not strike back nor will you be turned aside. And when you do that it calls on something in human nature, something that makes his hatred decrease and his respect increase. I think Christ grasped that and I have seen it work.’”
I think somehow we as Christians are missing it. In many other religions and cultures, I see passion and dedication. Yet in many churches I've been to (which is more than a couple dozen) I see mediocre worship done by sleepy eyed people who doze off or daydream during the sermon, only to leave the church feeling like they've done their "Christian duty" and spend the rest of their week living like the world. We don't stand up for our relationship with Christ. If your facebook didn't say you were a Christian, how many people would honestly know?
Yet another thing strikes me about this, that tends to strike me often. That is love, tolerance, and respect. How many people do you disrespect or judge because you say they are living in sin, or do something you disagree with. We yell at young girls walking into an abortion clinic, but we never offer them prayer, or a place where they can be safe. We refuse to allow gay marriage, because we don't like it. Instead we will make rude remarks because "that man loves another man," but you know its okay to be in a marriage that isn't full of love simply because it is a heterosexual marriage. We will kick the homeless man out of our church service because he hasnt had a shower nor is he wearing "church clothes," but we wont off him a warm place to rest, food for his belly, or clothes to replace the worn ones he has.
We aren't living like Christ would. There are an estimated 2.1 billion Christians in the world. That is more than enough to rock the world with the love, grace, and power of Christ. Yet we let people go hungry, we let orphans go parentless, and we never share the story of grace unless we are beating someone over the head with it.
When will we become "little christs"?
