< BOLD >

I like your Christ; 
I do not like 
your Christians.  
—Mohandas Ghandi

This quote has been on my mind a lot in the last couple months. There are likely thousands of others who share this viewpoint, and I can't say I blame them. 

The term "Christian" really doesn't mean anything. Or rather, it has grown to encompass such a broad spectrum of beliefs and behaviors that I would venture to say the term has become as far removed as ever from its original meaning of "one who follows Christ," and has even taken on a negative connotation.

I can't help but wonder about the traits of those Christians Ghandi encountered. Were they self-righteous? Self-centered? Self-aggrandizing? Did they justify nefarious behavior for the purposes of proselytizing? Did they discriminate? Judge? Belittle? Perhaps the opposite—perhaps their lives were marked by idle indifference or passivity. Or, perhaps Ghandi was unable to discern any difference between the lives of Christians and the lives of non-Christians—in which case, what's the point?

This is not a post about hypocrisy, or abuses of the church, or political extremism. I just wanted to share what has been on my heart, in the hope that maybe what I have to say will encourage others who face similar challenges of faith. Lately, I've felt called to examine my own life and my own belief system, and ask myself whether I could have been the type of "Christian" that led Ghandi to make that statement. 

Living as an authentic Christ follower is hard. That's not an excuse, it's just a fact. Jesus confirmed this would be the case when he told his disciples (the first Christ followers) very clearly, In this world you will have trouble. (John 16:33) He didn't say, "you might  have trouble." He also told them, Blessed are you when men hate you, when they exclude you and insult you and reject your name as evil, because of the Son of Man. (Luke 6:22)  Not "if  they hate, exclude, insult, reject"... when. 

One thing that is  easy in today's America is to be comfortable. I include myself in this statement. It is so easy for me to settle into a routine and live a vanilla life. Yes, I have occasional adventures, but usually for my own enjoyment. Am I really living the way Christ intended? What would that  life look like?

Among other characteristics, a life that follows Christ is one of love, selflessness, compassion, patience, self-control, generosity, kindness... boldness. I found over two dozen Bible verses that contain the word "boldness," many of which have to do with professing one's faith, and living a life that reflects it. (Acts 4:13, Philippians 1:20, I John 4:17, among others).

Choosing to boldly follow Christ takes courage. Why? Because doing so means willingly stepping into trouble, hatred, exclusion, insults, and rejection. So why would anyone deliberately follow that path? The truth is, fear keeps many from doing just that. And admittedly, it has been a challenge for me.

But what I have discovered is that despite the difficulties we are sure to encounter for following Christ, we do not face those challenges alone. (Deuteronomy 31:8, Matthew 28:20)

In fact, we have been promised two rewards when we do: 

1. Victory over the troubles of the world. 
[T]ake heart! I have overcome the world. (John 16:33) 

2. Blessing when we endure troubles for following Christ. 
Blessed are you when men hate... exclude... insult... reject... (Luke 6:22) 

This means we will move past the negative experiences to receive the blessing that flows when we cast our fears aside and boldly follow Him.  I have come that they may have life, and have it more abundantly. (John 10:10) Christ empowers us to share out of the abundance we receive and be a blessing to others—to be the hands and feet of Jesus in a world that desperately needs Him. 

I can't help but wonder what Ghandi would have said had he met Christians whose lives truly reflected Christ. We can only speculate. Personally, I have reached a point in my life where I want to embrace boldness, live authentically, and reflect the light of Christ in a dark world.  

You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven. (Matthew 5:14,16)  

Time flies...

...when you're not on Facebook!

I can't believe I've been Facebook-free for one month. I really thought I would miss it more than I did. Actually, I'm kind of appalled at how much I DIDN'T miss it. When I clicked that "deactivate" button on July 6th, my quickening pulse and sweaty palms were clear indicators that I had made the right decision. I was really quite disgusted with myself. Afterwards, I lost track of how many times my thumb instinctively flew to that blue "F" icon on on my phone. At least I removed the button from the favorites toolbar on my browser, otherwise I'm sure my mouse cursor would have floated up to click that too. In fact, it probably did. Gross.

It's also highly intriguing to me that three separate friends (that I know of... there may be more) also parted ways with Facebook in the last four weeks, all for various reasons, but all of which stemmed from bad experiences... account hacking, Facebook-sponsored spam-bots, drama-inducing posts. It was kind of nice knowing I wasn't the only fed-up Facebooker.

I must say, I really enjoyed using other forms of communication over the last month, which included Twitter, LinkedIn, email, text, and talking. I also found that I took more time to read -- that is, read things other than people's status updates or political rants or Words With Friends scores. Although I did get some of that from Twitter. But the beauty of Twitter is that in a matter of seconds, comments roll off the screen, never to be thought of again. Quite unlike FB's "Top Stories" that would stare back at me. All. Day. Long.

It was a nice experiment, and a much needed rehab from Crackbook. Yet, in spite of my new-found freedom, I will likely reactivate my account anyway.

I know, I know.

I certainly have no intention to revert to the addict I once was, and I plan to keep that bookmark removed from my favorites. Maybe I'll become one of those people who has an active  Facebook account but "is never on."

We're about to find out.