A Different Perspective

You can’t go back. After you’ve experienced something, you can’t take it away. There’s no eternal sunshine of a spotless mind. Lately, I confess a formerly secret desire to go back to a time when I didn’t understand cultural shifts, when black was black and white, white. A time when the anomalies regarding the functioning of the church were not enough to burst the bubble which was my view of the world. Things were easier then.

But the bubble burst, and there’s nothing I can do about it.

While there’s a part of me that wants to go back, that voice comes from selfishness. I want it to be easier on me, not necessarily better for the church or anyone else for that matter. I wish I had all of those external social pressures making me “good.” It’s a lot easier than really changing. Now, I know I must walk down the narrow, seemingly impassable path of the Way. That’s what it was originally called, before we were labeled Christians by those outside of the church. And the term Christian originally meant, “little Christ.”

What if living your life in such a way that you were seen as a Christ imitator was the only possibility for being called a “Christian?” Rather than beliefs and artificial social structures, our identity as Christian should stem from our willingness to walk in the way Christ walked. Not reducing it to a cheesy saying (WWJD), but truly seeking after the Way of Christ. Living our lives in such a way that we actually have a pretty good idea what jesus would do in a given situation without asking the question. Knowing because Jesus has been using our willingness and our following to transform us more and more into his image.

I really haven’t been doing this. So I (now not-so) secretly desire to go back to a time when I could show up on Sundays, keep my behavior moderately in check, perform some perfunctory leadership duties, and have scattered moments of “true” worship… and all this would make me feel complete. Sure, there was real growth, I’m not bagging the whole deal. God meets us where we’re at, for certain. But now, where I’m at is a wholly different place. The bubble has burst, and I must choose to follow or not follow the Way of Christ. There are no more motions to go through.

This entry was posted on Thursday, August 25th, 2005 at 11:15 am and is filed under Faith, Life. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.