Several years ago, I received a phone call from an old neighbour who wanted to know why I had “defected” (his own word) from Hinduism and embraced Christianity.
He went on to quiz me, saying that historically Christianity was associated with crusades, imperialism, war, exploitation, a climbing divorce rate, feminism and individualism.
His view of Christianity differed sharply from biblical Christianity.
His view, perhaps, finds its echo among other non-Christian faith traditions.
However, it is bewildering to know that even many Christians perceive Christianity differently.
For some Christians, Christianity is all about miracles, healing, and charisma. For others it might be speaking in a strange tongue. And for still others, it is a path to material blessings and security.
To some it means denominational segregation, holiness — division of the sheep from the goats.
For many others, it is about winning souls and increasing membership in their churches.
What is Christianity? I know a church which has a four-fold mission statement which reads: worship the Saviour, win the lost, disciple the converts and care for the fellowship.
But Christianity is not just about doing things and carrying out a bunch of ‘projects.’
For example, if Christianity is about worshipping alone, it would never be able to outdo the Muslims who could shame many Christians by their punctilious prayers five times a day.
If it is about caring for the ‘fellowship,’ Christianity would not be able to outdo others who are willing to sacrifice many hours of their lives for the community.
It seems that Christianity is generally defined by obsessions of Christian’s engagement into all kinds of external activities, but rarely by the fundamentals of what it is really about.
What makes Christianity unique? What is the true essence of Christianity?
A good place to look for the answer is in the Bible itself. How did the word “Christian” come into existence?
We read in Acts 11:26 that the disciples of Jesus Christ were first called Christians in the city of Antioch. It describes the disciples of one Christus, the anointed one (in Greek), the Messiah (in Hebrew).
In other words, external traditions, practices, doctrinal teachings, mission activities, and other “Christian’ engagements are not the right definitions.
It is the life of Jesus Christ in the followers and his teachings embodied that comprise the identity of a Christian.
That takes us to the next question: How does one follow Jesus Christ? Should he subscribe to the teachings of the Protestant, Catholic, Baptist, Presbyterian, Lutheran, Methodist, and other groupings?
Who else can answer that question other than Jesus himself? A text in Luke 9:57-62 explains what Jesus requires from his followers.
In the text we read that a man wanted to follow Jesus anywhere he would go. But the Master, with his divine knowledge, perceived his failure to understand what that would entail.
He told this would-be follower: “Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head.”
We know that Jesus was not exactly a homeless person. He certainly had a home and a family.
Holes, nests, shelter and a place to lay our head are symbols that connote safety, security, comfort, and rest.
In other words, if one wants to follow him expecting that he would be given one of these, he should know that it should not be the priority of his company.
With wrong expectation, one cannot go all the way that Jesus was planning to go. Twice Luke reminds his readers of Jesus’ primary mission.
The Son of man came to suffer and be rejected (vs. 21, 44). And if one wants to follow Jesus, he must come with such readiness.
In the same story, two other would-be followers were also dissuaded in like manner in their pursuits.
In following Christ, it is all about how much we can trust Jesus. Can our families be our priority? Can our business take the prior place of Jesus in our lives?
Our love for God and our passion for His kingdom must surpass all other love and passion in our lives.
The question is: where is our first love?
These might seem to be very difficult propositions, but they are not really.
The Scripture testifies that millions of men and women of God were able to live the life that Jesus demanded from them.
God gives the grace to those who wants to follow Him and live a life worthy of His call. For full commitment on the part of His followers, He gives His sanctifying grace, empowering grace and enabling grace.
For this reason, Apostle Paul could say: “In all these things, we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 8:37-39).
Narayan Mitra is the pastor of Merritt Baptist Church at 2499 Coutlee Ave. [email protected].
