Making A Difference

What's a Christian? He's a person who embodies the being of Christ- the Savior and Leader of his life. He learns to become Christ-like by reading the Bible, following His commandments, and communicating with Him through prayer, therefore creating a growing relationship with Him.

With this, he can be the salt and light the world can see. His words and actions will reflect the God He loves and serves, which will make others know Him.

But do we see this reflection now? It looks like it's not. The world has a negative perception of Christians. Christians are now seen as bigoted, self-righteous, judgmental, proud, selfish, any description that makes them like any ordinary person. With this, the distinction of being Christian can't be seen anymore.

And with the current times, the manner of evangelism has changed. From big crowds to speak about Christ, it has become a one-on-one life example to others. The question is: Can we ride on the tide in making a difference for Christ?



I learned about different kinds of Christians. Some choose to entertain all things Christian in their surroundings. Some are aggressive in winning souls for Christ. Some insist on their moral conviction for others to follow. Some mix with people for them to get along. Some do good works for people for a good cause. 

There's nothing wrong with this as I've learned, but there are downsides to that. There's a tendency to be close-minded or irrelevant. They also tend to isolate themselves from others. The last two are those who are cultural. They tend to be like following them and be a motive-seeker.

There must be a better way to reach out to them effectively. Thankfully, there's an option a Christian can be. It's becoming a restorer. He puts back the relationship between God and man, which was broken when sin entered the garden.


If there's one model of a restorer, it's no other than Jesus. He came to the world as a man and fulfilled what He needed to do. He became faithful until His work is finished. If there are things I see in Him that make up this attribute, here are two things:
* He grew in wisdom, stature, and favor with God and men.
* He reached out to every people He met and loved them.

With the kind of life He lived, He created a culture of beauty. It's nice to see that despite all the difficulties in the broken world we're living in, one can create something beautiful out of it. And in a world where hope is needed for all the needy, one can do that. And that's what Jesus did in His ministry years. This is parallel to our mission, and He gave us that example.

From that culture of beauty comes a culture of excellence. Whatever gifts and talents you have, use them in your part of the restoration process. Wherever you are in your mission field to make a difference in any possible way. 


When I think of the Christianity I have, I thought of how much I enjoyed learning about Him through Bible stories and preaching messages. I grew spiritually. I understood that living the Christian life is living radically for others to see a living, existing God who loves them and invites them to Him. But with all good there, I saw my life not making an impact. 

At one time, I got to see my perception of a Christian. I perceive him to be excellent. Next was my perception of the world's thoughts about Christians. I see them as judgmental. Last was what the world really thought about Christians. 

Now with the world's actual thoughts of Christians, there were three that struck me the most, First was a Christian being exclusive and having the "always right" attitude. Second, a Christian focusing more on personal fulfillment above all things. This happens to remove a person from the core of Christianity. And third, a Christian treating Christianity as a ritual and not becoming any different every after church gathering. They struck me the most because I felt them, and I'm guilty of it. That needs to be changed.

With the kind of Christianity we have now that focuses on the self, it's time we need to go back to what Christianity ought to be, just like the early days. It's like that last small group session. It's a lot of unlearning, relearning, and learning if we're serious about this. And it still reminds us today, as we're running life's race.


As we ended the series, we were asked what a restorer ought to be. There were traits mentioned: being available, relevant, empathic, attractive, a good listener, one who dares to care, and one who dies for another. And I agree with them. That makes one person effective for doing such. I answered pure-hearted. He always sees the good in anything.

I've got a lot of things to work on, especially ones that don't make me salt and light. Most of them saw the turn-off. And it's sad to see that Christians, as the shining hope for the world, repel it to them. It will take time for the world to rebuild its trust in us Christians. And when that time comes, it's time for that hope to spark in for the broken relationship to be restored.

For all that's written here, we choose to restore because we have a Restorer who brought us up from our old self to a new creation in Him. It's time not to waste what He has worked in us for. And once we understand that, we can fulfill our mission as a restorer no matter what the times would be. It's hard, but it can be done. It's time to keep the faith alive and show them what the true Christians are really made of.

Comments

  1. Yeah. To be like Jesus and always reach out and pour yourself to others would really drain you. I sometimes avoid reaching out to leave some juice inside of me but Jesus didn't avoid. He poured himself out and you just reminded me how he regained his strength back. He made time to commune from the source. Nice one Earl, glad you wrote this . Till next time

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment