Chapter 20 - What Does it Mean to be a Christian?

We'll come back to the video in just a bit - but for now, I would like to quote Drane, albeit in reference to the thought behind the title of this chapter and not to the question he poses in his work.

"It is easier to ask that question than it is to answer it." (p. 366 - careful of the page reference folks. It's really close to being so evil that it lights your computer monitor on fire.)

Wouldn't this whole thing be somehow easier if Jesus had have only kept on going after Peter's confession. "You speak well Simon bar Jonah, and you are blessed because My Father has revealed this to you. From now on, you are Peter, and this Rock I will build my Church. Now, when you get together as a Church, here are the things I want you to do, and the ways I want you to do them. First..." Of course Jesus didn't do that, and Drane reminds us that Paul, in all his Christ-appointed missionary work, didn't lay out any specific liturgies either. Paul didn't go so far as to make a collective statement about the theological things he believed an why. We have God only to thank for calling such a dedicated, determined, and intelligent thinker to spread his word. We need also thank the Lord that He providentially preserved Paul's writings for us to have today.

Providence - maybe that's the point. Drane reminds us that Paul's letters weren't epistles as such - they were all specific communication for specific people at specific times. We have gained so much from them today, but what of the Galatian church had have been the same as the Ephesian church, who were the same as the Corinthians, who were the same as the Philippians, who were the same as the... You get the point. God had the right man on the job, at the right time, mixing it up with the right band of people so that Paul had to write what he wrote, and we are blessed immensely by the heart of God poured through the vessel of Paul. When I think of how God used Paul to bring a message of peace to a world shaped by so many didn't mini and macro cultures, I think of different colors. Then my mind goes back to God's first sign of peace with the world - the rainbow. Folks who know will tell you that EVERY color that is, is in the rainbow. It just seems that God has a penchant for diversity.

Paul's testimony to all who listened was plain, there is one living God and He can "only be fully known through Jesus." (p. 369) The message remains the same today. Drane reminds us that Paul realized that there was nothing he had done and there was no part of him that deserved God's love and the salvation He gives. How has this changed in 2000 years? Are any of us more deserving than Paul? Have any of us done something that has impressed the risen Lord with just how amazing we are? Of course not - Christ's Holy Spirit chases us down and draws us to Him, precisely because we are totally incapable of finding ourselves - let alone our Creator. How can anyone of us react any differently than Paul did. Our faith too is the response of God's presence in our lives. Paul's encounter with Jesus was something that I dare say most of us just won't experience. Jesus already has my attention - so I'm guessing that when I see the Lord face-to-face I'll be helping a garden grow.

Drane says that Paul's faith was a "response to God...based on a holistic perception that began with his direct experience" (p. 370) with Jesus (a.k.a. Holy Spirit). Here's the thing - me too! That's my story, that's yours. My friend John asks me (all the time), "How can you tell me with certainty that there is a God?" I tell John, "I can't tell you anything else. He has revealed Himself to me, I know He is alive, and if I told you otherwise I would be lying." That's where Paul found Himself - and I expect that's where many of you are.

Paul realized, and we should too, that the reality of Christ and His mandate for His Church compels each of us to care for our neighbors. This really is an outworking of the Holy Spirit - Christians are the body of Christ, Christ is its head. What the head says do, the body does. Paul saw that if God would go through the hassle of loving him, one who was out to destroy the Church, then "Christians must show the same openness in their relationships with others." (p. 371) It's more than what we do - it's who we are. And this realization gets into the heart of how Paul began to reinterpret the Law.

Yes, God had given Israel His perfect Law, but something had gone wrong. Who was to blame? God? Israel? For Paul the answer was plain - by "keeping [the Law] most meticulously, Paul had clearly found himself on the opposite side to God!" (p. 372) Just as with our neighbors, the answer is the same with Jesus. God desires relationships with His people. The trouble for the Israelites, and for a lot of us today - is we want rules. Relationships are tough; they take time and energy to get right. Rules are easy; just follow them - or don't. I'm sure it must have really caused Paul a lot of heartache and head spinning when he first started to get God's message - Relationships, not Rules! I wonder, how do you feel about that?

Okay - back to the video. It's kind of fun, and it sort of makes a point. At first I watched it and got a chuckle - and if I was completely truthful, I'd have to say it still makes me smile. Its point is plain, and it's made in a fun way. But here's the thing - maybe it's counter productive, and just not necessary. I guess, if I were to say I see myself in the video, it's on the side of the Mac - casual. But - who cares? I go back to the rainbow - there are Christians in suits, Christians in hoodies, Christians in orange jump suits, Christians in shorts, and in dresses, tuxedos, white suits, linen shirts, braided hair, buzz-cuts, leather jackets, polar fleece - oh, I could go on until you just got bored and closed your web-browser. But I won't. In that video - I bet both of those guys and the churches of which they are each members proclaim the Gospel message of Jesus' birth, death, burial, and resurrection. And I bet they both have relationships with Christ and their neighbors. It's time I stopped worrying about what it means to look Christian, and get back to thinking about what it means to be a Christian!