What do we have to know to be a genuine Christ follower? What must we do or what must we experience? How do we know if we are or not?
There are many people who know about Jesus, about Christianity, about the bible. Does that mean they are Christ followers? It’s interesting that some of the most knowledgeable people in Jesus day, some of the most righteous by the standards of the law (the spiritual rule book) seemed to be the furthest from what Jesus was trying to promote and teach. They didn’t like him and he was quite critical of their brand of spirituality.
Here’s the irony. Jesus seemed to have no problem connecting with the “less-than-righteous.” There seemed to be a quick connect with what he was teaching and the brand of spirituality that he was selling. How was it that people who had devoted their whole lives to God could get it so wrong and those who lived opposed to God could get it so quickly.
I like what author John Ortberg said, “The righteous were more damaged by their righteousness than the sinners were by their sin.”
Put that in your pipe and smoke it.
Griff
There are many people who know about Jesus, about Christianity, about the bible. Does that mean they are Christ followers? It’s interesting that some of the most knowledgeable people in Jesus day, some of the most righteous by the standards of the law (the spiritual rule book) seemed to be the furthest from what Jesus was trying to promote and teach. They didn’t like him and he was quite critical of their brand of spirituality.
Here’s the irony. Jesus seemed to have no problem connecting with the “less-than-righteous.” There seemed to be a quick connect with what he was teaching and the brand of spirituality that he was selling. How was it that people who had devoted their whole lives to God could get it so wrong and those who lived opposed to God could get it so quickly.
I like what author John Ortberg said, “The righteous were more damaged by their righteousness than the sinners were by their sin.”
Put that in your pipe and smoke it.
Griff
1 comment:
This is one issue that nags at me at times. Am I a genuine Christian? You know, I look at other people and hear them talk about their experience with God, and sometimes I'm right there with them. Then other times, I'm very aware of what's going on inside myself where no one else can see but me and God. I know that when I did such and such, there was a lot of pride in my heart, or on that occasion I was thinking about what other people would think about me when they saw or heard about me doing something. I see a lot of my flaws, but fortunately others miss a lot of them. Or maybe that should read "unfortunately". Maybe if everything could be watched by others everyday, it would force me to be sincere. But...then I'd be back to only doing right because others were watching. I'm getting dizzy going around these circles!
Anyway, this is humbling. And that's what it's all about - being humble. Perhaps that's one of the keys to being genuine - being humble, inside and out. Staying out of the competition for "Superchristian." Just living day-to-day with God, and knowing that's all that matters.
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