What is Christianity, anyway?
In our relative society, it has come to mean little more than the token pairing of Jesus with..well, with everything. Those who claim the label "Christian" have, for the most part, morphed into hippies, who are high on Jesus.
Is this true Christianity?
It can't be.
I refuse to believe that this is the most I can attain as a Christian.
Maybe this idea will anger some people. Maybe a few will agree. Some might resent me for it. But, most people will probably blissfully ignore it.
I don't mean to upset anyone. Well, actually I do. Sometimes, people need upsetting.
It's time to truly step beyond Hippie Christianity. It's time to put to death every Sunday School answer. In so many people's lives, Jesus is never more than the answer to every church question.
"What did you learn about today?...Jesus"
"Why should you do the right thing?...Jesus"
"How do you get through difficult things?...Jesus"
It's time to face reality:
Jesus is so much more than the man from the flannelgraphs.
Being a Christian is so much more than knowing John 3:16 and occasionally wearing a W.W.J.D. bracelet.
Basically, Christianity should change a person. The awesome love of Christ should shake someone to their core, and leave them changed forever. Here is the crux of true Christianity: love.
Here's where Hippie Christianity begins. Taking the truth about that love, many have developed an "all you need is love" version of Christianity, which is as far away from true Christianity as John Lennon is from London today. While it is true that you need love, it isn't all you need.
You can't be a Christian without love. You just can't. Jesus loved others unconditionally, and we are called to be like him. Christ's love knows no boundaries. No social stereotype can keep His pure, holy love out. No one is exempt from His love. If you're human, you're loved by Christ.
However, if you're human, you're also broken and in need of fixing. This is where Hippie Christianity dives off the deep end. If all we need is love, we don't have to find a way to fix this brokeness. Although our wicked selves will never be perfect in this life, Christ's love begins the repair process.
True Christianity is the combination of love and the truth of mankind's brokeness. This love is not the end, it is the way to fix ourselves.
So, Christians can't not love. After all, we have been loved so much, to deny that love to another person should make you wonder whether Christ has really changed you.
To live in love is to truly follow Christ. But, live in real love, not Beatles love.
Be more than a Jesus Hippie.
There is so much more available than Hippie Christianity.
[Where the way is hardest, there go thou. Follow your own path, and let people talk] Dante
