Christicans (or, An Epistle to American Christians)

Angela, follower of Christ Jesus, to the dear brothers and sisters who are in the United States: Greetings!  Praise be to our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ who, being not fearful of nor threatened by post-modern humans or their words, laws, or nuclear weapons, empowers us with His Spirit and charges us with the privilege of spreading the excellent news of His Resurrection and of the free gift of eternal life!  For it is He who forsook His riches and glory to walk amongst us and to give Himself as the perfect, spotless sacrifice for our sins.  For this and for all His many blessings upon His undeserving creation, be glory and honor unto Him both now and forevermore!  Amen.

Brothers and sisters, what is this I hear of American Christians who, in the name of political correctness, keep their faith unto themselves only?  Should we hide the light of life within our hearts as though it were ours to keep?  May it never be!

Dear ones, be not deceived by the lying statement that it is better to preach the precious Gospel with our lives rather than with our words, which we should supposedly use only when necessary.  For, it was not the respected evangelist St. Francis of Assisi, venerated champion of our cause, who burdened us with such worthless words!¹  Rather, his legacy stands as a shining example of the sort of follower our Christ dearly loves, and his very life disproves the wretched advice that so wrongly bears his name!  For it was he who charged all who converted through his leadership “to follow the teachings of our Lord Jesus Christ and to walk in his footsteps.”²  Would such an individual then suggest that we abandon exactly what Christ commanded and lived?

Furthermore, I hear reports that some of you have actually built entire philosophies of proselytization upon such a heresy, and that you are, consequently, valuing your own comfort and earthly reputation more highly than the riches you would otherwise accrue in the life to come.  Was it for your silence that Christ Jesus died?  Did our Savior endure grief and sorrow so that you might treasure yourself more highly?  Were His wounds inflicted so that they might be your personal secret?

Now let us discuss, in more human terms, the effectiveness of such a gross distortion of the Great Commission.³  While keeping our lips firmly shut and living a respectable life, what service do we do to our religion?  Do we not simply reflect the seemingly tolerant, politically-correct atheists, agnostics, and New Age spiritists who permeate our society and stand for nothing?  As we imitate those around us in polite behavior, seeking to avoid offense, we nurture within us the damnable habit of filtering from our speech the truth, and, in so doing, we hatefully deprive those lost in their sins of the revelatory knowledge of freedom in Christ.  By our silence, we bury in our hearts the sole key to their shackles.

Dear Family, I write not with a spirit of condemnation, but rather out of an unbearable burden to destroy this epidemic of complacency that is so rapidly infecting the Church.  Although it is true that we live in a time of religious spinelessness and moral relativity, we should not allow the cultural majority to hinder us in our obedience to the one true God.  Too often, brothers and sisters, I have heard those who claim to love our Christ cite our country’s policy of religious freedom as a reason to keep silent.  What irony!  This sacred privilege, along with her glorious twin sister, Freedom of Speech, which was bestowed by God unto us through our country’s Constitution, is the selfsame reason we should find ourselves unable to stop speaking!

But I do not admonish you, beloved, without first closely examining the heart and soul of the very same one who humbly composes this letter.  For she who so boldly proclaims the truth of Christ in black and white also suffers greatly from the cultural climate which gave her birth.  Although we are born into death, we are made alive through Christ, and this rebirth must generate within us a boldness to share what has given us the hope to look toward tomorrow.  For it is to our shame that our brothers and sisters across the globe suffer not from our timidity, but rather speak plainly the name of Christ in the face of utter horror.  Expecting torture and death as their only earthly repayment, these faithful followers proclaim all the more boldly the name of the only hope and salvation the world can ever know.  How much more should we, who stand only to lose a friend or an argument, take advantage of the freedom so lovingly entrusted to us?  For our gracious heavenly Father has seen fit to offer us this great gift; but, my dear ones, with great privilege comes great responsibility.

So it is with sincere humility and with immense fervor that I adjure you, sons and daughters of our great King, to treasure your Savior more highly than your friendships and to value your friends’ eternal future more highly than your own present comfort.  For, when all is laid bare before our final Judge, He will judge us not by the number of friends we have collected, but rather by the number of sheep we have invited into the fold.

We must, therefore, look expectantly upward to the one and only source of our courage and comfort as we obediently fulfill the Great Commission, that is, to make disciples of all nations.  For how else can we make disciples, if not with our mouths?

Remember those in chains for the Gospel.  Brother Gao in China, from whom we have not heard since his most recent abduction by authorities, will surely benefit much from our prayers.⁴  Also, remember our Sister Twen in Eritrea and Pastor Matthias and all the Brethren held captive in the Islamic Republic of Iran as they suffer joyfully behind bars for the cause of Christ.⁵  Perhaps, through their wounds and their witness, more precious ones will be brought into the Family.

Grace and peace be with you, dear ones, in the name of our only Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

Endnotes

1. Mark Galli, “Speak the Gospel,” Christianity Today.  http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2009/mayweb-only/120-42.0.html (accessed June 10, 2020).
2. Encyclopædia Britannica, “Saint Francis of Assisi,” http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/216793/Saint-Francis-of-Assisi (accessed June 10, 2020).
3. Matt. 28:16-20.
4. China Aid, “Two Years Later, Lawyer Gao is Still Missing,” https://www.chinaaid.org/2019/08/two-years-later-lawyer-gao-is-still.html (accessed June 10, 2020).
5. The Voice of the Martyrs, PrisonerAlert.com, http://prisoneralert.com/ (accessed June 10, 2020).

What’s Your Puddle?

I promise, I’m almost done talking trees. (If you missed it, this is the final installment of my tree series, which I didn’t intend to be a series in the first place, but I’m really just incapable of being concise. Therefore, it is now a series. I promise I’m done talking about trees after this. Really. Unless I think of something else to say about them.)

In my first post, I talked about having Deep Roots. There, I discussed exquisite Biblical imagery about a healthy, deeply rooted tree that is meant to help us understand the beauty of a believer’s intimate relationship with God. Yesterday, I posted about Getting All Tangled Up, wherein I talked about growing together in a community of believers and the strength that comes from it.

Today is about having no roots and having no community. It’s about being the average, American, self-proclaimed Christian. This encompasses varying levels of professing belief. Maybe they go to church a lot, maybe occasionally, maybe never. Maybe they appreciate Facebook memes about God and re-post them sometimes. Maybe they wear a cross necklace or have a Jesus tattoo. Maybe they try really hard to be nice and good. Maybe they don’t try that hard because they figure Jesus was all about forgiveness anyway. Maybe they really like Jesus, or at least what they know of Him, but they really don’t like church-going Christians, or at least what they know of them. Maybe they’re really believers, maybe they’re not. The point is that this person would, if asked, identify him- or herself as a Christian. And the point is that this person is missing the point.

This person is a Christmas tree.

In a puddle of water.

Trying really hard to be pretty and to get people to like her.

And generally, people do. She wears pretty lights, heart-felt ornaments, eye-catching garland, and is crowned by a bright star. People must like that, or they wouldn’t decorate trees every year! Oh, and don’t forget the pretty wrapped presents beneath her branches! She has gifts to give her family and friends because she loves them. She worked really hard to carefully select, wrap, and arrange the presents. All of this makes her look beautiful, and it generally makes most people like her.

Unfortunately, those beautiful presents are masking a deadly secret: This beautiful tree has no roots, and no REAL source of life! She is dying. She’s putting on makeup every day, clasping her cross necklace around her neck, and smiling like everything is okay.

But it’s not. First of all, most of what’s beautiful about her is external. She is not bearing fruit; she is merely adorned with material things. Even worse, she has no roots, and she is trying to survive in a puddle of water that, frankly, is too easily forgotten about for days after it’s gone dry.  Her puddle might be church. Or a relationship. Or general “spiritual” acknowledgements. Maybe even a devotional book. Or a self-help book. Or a white-knuckled dedication to positive thinking. Ultimately, though, it’s deferring the inevitable and keeping her just barely hanging on.

SHE

IS

DYING.

So, at some point, she’s going to start to wilt. And turn brown. And stink. Unless there’s a major intervention.

I know a lot of Christmas trees. I recognize them because I’ve been one, and so God is beginning to break my heart for them. They don’t know that there is so much more to life. That there is abundant life to be had! It’s available for you and for me, and it ain’t no puddle that’s gonna dry up.

Go, seek out Living Water. Then you won’t have to keep hoping your sad little puddle won’t dry up. That puddle’s not really working anyway, is it?

And for the cynics: You CAN re-plant a Christmas tree. So there. 🙂