Scripture: Acts of the Apostles 26:29 – “Paul replied, ‘Whether quickly or not, I pray to God that not only you but also all who are listening to me today might become such as I am—except for these chains.’” (NRSVUE)
Do we want more people in our lives to be Christian? Our thoughts say “yes, of course.” But our actions show that we may not. Because being a Christian is often considered to be a private matter. Religion, like money, is not something that is discussed in polite conversation, although heated debates over politics and intimate details of one’s love life are perfectly acceptable topics these days.
I was talking to my son yesterday, who is getting into debates in his high school political science class and believes he has figured everything out. In pontificating about religion and how destructive it seems, he mentioned that religion, while “important”, should not be talked about in the public sphere. It is fine to do in private. This is not an unusual opinion. Many people believe that the “separation of church and state” does not only refer to the government establishing a church or recognizing one religion as more political acceptable than another. They think that religion has only a place in the personal and spiritual realm and nothing to say about the rest of life.
Many people want to reduce religion to spirituality, to personal practices which find meaning in the meaninglessness of life. But one of the faults of spirituality is that it requires very little of you. Being a Christian, on the other hand, should impact how you behave. Now, that does not mean that you need to be over the top in shoving your religion in others’ faces. Especially in our region of the country, such behavior is much more likely to turn people away than to bring them to the faith.
So, what should we do? We should signal to our friends and neighbors that religion is important to how we live our lives. We should mention, subtly but consistently, about the meaning we find in church, in the relationships we form there, and the ministries of prayer, justice, and fellowship that are part of the Christian life. We want our friends to be Christian not to “save their souls” (a problem that most people do not think they have), but so they too can find the peace that is missing in their lives and just as importantly the people that can help them along the way.
In the Acts of the Apostles, Paul is arrested by his foes and appeals time and time again until he reaches King Herod Agrippa II. While Paul is being questioned, he makes an appeal to Agrippa’s faith in the prophets to understand why he fights so hard for Christ. Agrippa pauses and says, “Are you so quickly persuading me to become a Christian?” Paul responds that yes, even in a trial to save his life, he is making an appeal to everyone so that they may come to Christ. While Paul is perhaps more abrasive than we would want to be, he is living out his Christianity, trying to point out in ways large and small why it is important for people to come to Christ.
If we want our churches to be around in the decades to come, we cannot let our faith be something we do in private to avoid upsetting our friends. Neither, I think, should we pressure people into joining us. Instead, by living faithful lives in public, we demonstrate that Christianity is not a religion of judgment and rejection, but one of justice and fellowship. Why is being a Christian important to you, and how will you demonstrate that today?
Prayer: Jesus, help me to show your blessings to a world that ignores your love. Amen.
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