Little Christs?

I was working on a blog design project for Imago Dei and followed with interest the crisis of faith that Amanda experienced. In the end, she determined that her problem lay not with God but with modern day Christianity.

I, too, believe that there is something dreadfully wrong with much of "Christianity" in our world, for American Christianity looks nothing like the Christianity shown in the Bible. No longer do people know that a Christian is a "little Christ" or a "Christ-follower." Today, "Christian" not only refers to one who follows Christ but may also apply to music, books, clothing, movies, and, unfortunately, has become a generic label attached to many things that bring shame to the name of Christ. Surely you have noticed how many things have some kind of religiously-affiliated title: Christian dance, True Religion Jeans, Christian handyman. This is good marketing strategy, for many people will blindly trust in anything that bears a religious label, but it makes meaningless the term "Christian."

A friend of mine told me what her grandmother always told her: "A person can be saved and not be a Christian, for the "i" in Christian always follows "Christ," and you can be saved but choose not to follow Christ." I also really liked Amanda's statement, "Christian is a great noun and a poor adjective." It seems as though everyone (and everything!) is claiming the name of Christ. "Sure, I'm a Christian, " people say, but when you ask them when they accepted Jesus as their Savior, they often say that they have always been a Christian, or they belong to "such-and-such" church, or they are a good person, or any number of reasons why they claim the title of Christian (other than acceptance of Jesus Christ's atonement for sin.)

We who are Christians: do we reflect the true meaning of the word "Christian"? Do we follow Christ? I'm not asking, "Do we follow a prescribed list of rules?" I'm asking if we follow Christ. We need not worry about man-made standards, for as we follow Christ, pray, and read His Word, He will show us what He wants us to do.

Don't get me wrong; it's not bad to have standards. Standards only become a bad thing when we elevate them above God. Instead of realizing that people are at different places in their walk with God, we too often expect everyone to hold the same convictions and standards as we have, for, of course, we must be right. (gentle sarcasm here) All too often, we fail to have God's mercy, compassion, and love toward those who are not where we think they should be spiritually. This, too, is detrimental to the cause of Christ.

I challenge myself and every true Christian to remember why we are called Christians. Let's live our lives in such a way that those who see us will actually see Christ reflected in us. Let's reject this lukewarm, nominal "Christianity" that is the standard. Let's be on fire for God, living for Him to the best of our ability and seeking to draw others to Him through our lives. Let's be "Little Christs."