Monday 2/10/2014 5:46 AM
Yesterday I read a Facebook post from one of my colleagues
at Cerritos College. The
post was about atheists, with whom he identified himself, and it struck back
against the notion many Christians have that atheists are evil people who need
to be avoided because they do not acknowledge God. It pointed out that many atheists are more
loving than many Christians, a claim that I believe to be true. I “liked” the post because I agreed with
everything it pointed out.
In the broader Christian community there is a tendency to
portray atheists, agnostics, and others with whom we disagree as the enemy,
people to be avoided at all costs. We
jump on various bandwagons and despair because The Ten Commandments are taken
down in courtrooms, crosses are removed from public places and prayer has been
removed from public schools. We vilify
those who we feel are responsible for such atrocities and claim that
Christianity is under attack, that we are being persecuted for our beliefs.
My reading today includes Hebrews 12:14, “Make every effort
to live in peace with everyone and to be holy; without holiness no one will see
the Lord.” I also read this quote by
Albert Edward Day in his book Discipline
and Discovery, “True holiness is a witness that cannot be ignored. Real sainthood is a phenomenon to which even
the worldling pays tribute. The power of
a life, where Christ is exalted, would arrest and subdue those who are bored to
tears by our thin version of Christianity and wholly uninterested in mere
churchmanship.”
Too many Christians live
that thin version of Christianity to which Day refers. We go through the motions of attending
worship but we do not let the claims of Christ change our daily lives. If we would put aside our personal interests,
looking instead to the interests of others, if we would love others rather than
judge them, if we would give up ourselves for the good of others, then we would
have more credibility with those with whom we disagree. Perhaps if we put aside our pride and don
some humility people around us would see the Lord.
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