Thursday, August 14, 2008

Passionately Christian

I am part of MOPs International...Mothers Of Preschoolers. We have a group at our church where I am the finance leader. I get Leader e-mails from them every week, and this one just really hit me differently and I thought you all might like to read it too. My prayer is that we can ALL be passionately Christian.

Passionately Christian
By Liz Selzer, Director of Leadership Development and Events for MOPS International


“What do you love about Jesus?” Simple words really. Margaret Feinberg, (author of The Organic God) says that this is her favorite question to ask people … whether they are Christians or not. Most people we come in contact with regardless of their religious beliefs can and usually will answer this question, and their replies might surprise you.


“He was good … powerful … peaceful … inspiring … interesting … caring … accepting … loving …”
An amazing list—surprising in that these descriptors came from people who are not Christians. What is it about Jesus that is so compelling? Why is it that so many are drawn to him, even if they reject Christians and the Christian church? Why is it that most world religions acknowledge Christ’s existence, his wisdom and impact? And why do we as Christians often dilute him into a glorified friend, a God that can be ignored if inconvenient or an impersonal deity? We are called to be passionately Christian, to show those who come in contact with us what we love about Jesus.


So what does being passionately Christian look like?
It's pushing past fatigue to make that phone call to a troubled friend.
It's telling the story of how Jesus touches our lives with such passion and joy that it literally overflows onto those around us.
It's doing what we imagine Jesus would do for those around us if he were here in the flesh.
It's rejoicing in his deep love for us, and resting in that peace. It's trusting him with all we have.
It's being loving, patient, kind, not being envious, not boasting, not being proud, not being rude, not selfish, not easily angered, keeping no record of wrongs. It is rejoicing with the truth, and always protecting, trusting, hoping, and persevering (1 Cor 13:4-7). It's showing Christ to others by loving them in all the ways we can.


Being passionately Christian is being the hands and feet of Jesus to those we are uniquely in a position to touch. So I’ll ask again now … what do you love about Jesus?

No comments: