What Characterizes A Christian?

This is a question presented to my by my mother dearest. It's a very tricky question to answer for a number of reasons. Partly because the way we view ourselves, and the way those outside the church view us, are two very different things. While we see ourselves as loving and caring and compassionate, those outside see us as unloving, judgmental, hypocritical. But these things don't make one a Christian. A Christian is a follower of Christ, no more, no less. And there are as many different ways for a Christian act as there are different Christians.

So the question really should be "what is the ideal Christian?" The answer is in Jesus Christ. It's trite, I know, but He really is our greatest role-model.

We're meant to love completely and utterly. It takes love to die for a friend. How much more does it take to die for countless billions of enemies?

We're not meant to be happy and calm all the time. We're talking about a man who wept 'tears of blood' in the garden of Gethsemane. We're talking about a man who threw vendors out of His father's temple.

We're meant to forsake everything worldly. Jesus walked around the countryside preaching with little more than the clothes He was wearing and the friends He had made.

We're meant to be able to reason and argue well. Jesus was the king of this. Read any of the gospels, and it should strike you just how cool He is. For real. I read the things He says to the pharisees, and it's just like 'woah! shut down!' Like when they asked Him 'by what authority are you doing this stuff?' and He replied with 'did John's ministry come from man, or from God?' and the pharisees knew that if they said from man, the people would hate them, and if they said from God, Jesus would ask why they didn't believe. They thought they were clever, so they came back and said 'yeah well we don't actually know', and Jesus just says 'well then I'm not going to tell you by what authority I do this stuff!'

But finally, we're meant to trust God completely. Jesus threw Himself into the father's hands. He prayed that His 'cup might be taken from me... But your will, not mine, be done O God.' And then He went to die on the cross. For us. And after three days, God raised him up again to be with Him.

I could go on for ages about all the little things Jesus did, and all the ways we should emulate Him. But it would take far more time than I have! So I'll wind up now with a suggestion that you all read the gospel of Matthew. And look at the character of Christ. He was 100% God, but also 100% human. And the human part shines through very strongly. You can actually imagine hanging out with this guy, and He really is incredibly cool.

You've Made Me This Way

As I sit here to write
I try and fight the stream
Yet some sick part of me wishes for the old
I try to fit the rut
But something in me cries out, and I know
My calling is higher than the show my heart pretends

As much as I'd like to feign death
I feel that I am very much alive
And I know that it's only You've made me this way

As I sit here alone
I try and think of what You did
Yet I cannot even comprehend the brilliance
I try to understand
But it's all too beautiful for me
I love You, but sometimes I'm too scared to say

God, I am made for You
I know that I am here for You
And I know that it's only You've made me this way

Jesus, I am loved by You
I know that you were here for me
And I know that it's only You've made me this way

Spirit, I am filled by You
I know you're here beside me now
And I know that it's only You've made me this way

The Subtle Art of Passive Agression

If I don't like you, you'll feel uncomfortable around me. You won't know why. But everyone else watching us will actually get the snide remarks I'm making about you. They may not realize I don't like you either, but they'll be a lot closer to recognition than you will.

I'm not an aggressive person. I don't want trouble. But I'm verbally adept enough to make you feel uncomfortable as all hell. So here's a guide. If I keep bagging you out (even if it seems like a joke), constantly deride you, ignore your ideas and suggestions, tell people not to listen to you because you suck or are completely brainless, then chances are you really piss me off right now.

But never fear, it won't last. Eventually I'll start to like you again, and I'll stop making these comments about you. That's what it's like for me when somebody really ticks me off. I'm not going to smash your face in unless I lose it completely... And even then, I can keep my wits long enough to stop myself from doing anything that will actually HURT.

Just DON'T bag me out if I'm in a crappy mood. It should be obvious when I am, so don't be a loser. Don't annoy me, or I might just lose my cool. And one day, I'm not going to be able to hold myself back.

Autumn Leaves And Winter Rain

Autumn leaves and winter rain can tide over a sullen soul. To seek refuge from the bitterness of life, we fill our minds with images that relate. Autumn leaves fallen to the ground to be trod on by well meaning individuals. Cold, harsh rain beating ceaselessly against transparent glass. Always looking, but never finding. A lone raven sitting on a dead tree, not a single soul to keep him company. A worm crawling and slithering in the mud. Never able to look up. Chopped in half, and still crawling.

Sometimes we feel like a singer. Standing on a stage in front of hundreds of people. But our band has left us. Sometimes we feel like we just want to hang it all up and curl into a ball and cry until we're actually damp from lying in a pool of our own tears.

If every day was as sunny as the next, we wouldn't be human. Even as Christians, no one expects us to be happy all the time. Often my failure to live up to expectations pulls me down, and for a day or two I'll feel like the miserablest emo you can ever imagine. Then the next day, I feel like a hippie who's just got his hands on a shipload of LSD.

It doesn't last. We can't focus so much on the 'now' that we lose track of the future. And we can't focus so much on the past that we lose track of where we are now. And if we look too far ahead, we'll trip up purely because we aren't looking where we're going 'now.'

Words from the wise: Take each day as it comes.