"A close friend asked Gandhi, "If you admire Christ so much, why don't you become a Christian?" It is said that Gandhi replied, "When I meet a Christian who is a follower of Christ, I may consider it." Daily Bread, May 13, 2006
Friends, what does it mean when a wiseman makes such a comment regarding Christian culture? What does it mean to you to follow Christ?
Blessings,
Danielle
posted by Danielle at 1:58 PM
9 Comments:
It means loving the unlovables. It means resisting temptation.
It means forgiving.
It means putting others first.
It means worshipping Him.
It means reading His word to grow.
It means sharing what you know about Him and not hiding it.
It means being different.
It means being mocked.
It means loving Him so much that you would go to the ends of the earth for Him.
Rock on, Shenna!
I love this! Being a Christian is walking the walk more than talking the talk. It means loving others as your brothers and sisters regardless of their life, but because they are God's children. It means that when people look at you, they SEE JESUS. Jesus hung out with sinners without condemning them to hell. Jesus was gentle. His every pore radiated God. There was no judgement, there was only teaching through love. Jesus did not mince words, but he did not hold people's sins against them. Repentant sinners in His presence repented because of love, not by force. And Jesus gave up His very life by God's will and for our sake. His life was lived for all of us. As followers of Christ, our lives should be for the good of mankind, not ourselves, as uncomfortable as that is at times. It's not about raising the number of saved souls through evangelism. It's not about telling others their religion is WRONG, or their sin is sending them to hell. It's about teaching through sincere love, sacrifice, and aid to those who need it, and allowing Jesus to shine through.
What I know or think I know..... it just needs to drop like a stone into my heart........breaking it into doing what I know I need to do....
Awesome post danielle. I think our hearts are spiritually connected at this point in time..haha. I'd love to have discussions with you over coffee, but ...well..reading eachother's posts will have to do :)
God bless ya sista!!!
Who is this Ghandi??
;-)
Just kidding. Its a great quote and it makes us all realize that words without action mean nothing at all
I was reading some interesting stuff about Ghandi last night. Seems he was actually more inspired to action by reading about Christ than by his own Hindu beliefs. He liked Jesus and his ways but didn't want to be associated with "Christianity".
The be the loving incarational presence of God to others...
I always say that I don't have the guts to follow Jesus so I settle for being a CHristian.
I guess I could add to guts: faith, patience, kindness, empathy, prophetic voice, humility and lots of others things. :)
I don't know, I am not all that great at following Jesus, even though I love Jesus and claim him as Lord.
I guess ostly i attempt to meet folks where they are and through my words and actions remind them they are God's children. I have a long way to go to catch up to Jeus and his followers... I am lagging way behind. I don't feel guilty or shamed or anything like that... it's just the realty. :)
Thank you, friends. All such wonderful responses. God has been working in our hearts.
Chris and Shenna - you both pointed out something that struck me...WORSHIP. I do believe this is one way to follow Christ. To worship God. This is how we love on God. If you want to be in a relationship with someone, you sure wanna love them, right?
Crissi - you pointed out that part of being a follower of Christ is to TEACH. I love this concept. It is to come alongside someone...not just hit them over the head with religion or God. This is how we show we care for others...we teach them. Thank you for sharing this.
Becky - on a personal level, I get what you are saying. I need to get God infused into me quickly...there is still much to surrender...
Rachelle and Robin - hello to my Canadian connections! Rachelle, I'm digging your blog...I will try and get back for more reading. Robin, interesting comments about Ghandi. I also read that he was criticized for remaining Hindu as the caste system is so wacked. Hmmm. Religion is truly weird...on all accounts...the lengths we will go to in our lives to associate or disassociate ourselves to it is crazy.
Steve - you're just crazy! And yes, ACTION...that is what following Christ means in part to me as well.
Rick - I have read your quote on your blog. That you don't have the guts to follow Jesus so you settle for being Christian.
Isn't this all of us to a large degree. No one did it like Jesus. That's why he's my main man, my sweet Lord, my wonderful savior.
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