As I was driving to a meeting the other day I heard a question on the radio that made me think of my relationship with Christ and how I am perceived by those I come in contact with. Here’s the question: What are some of the adjectives people use to describe you?
At first I just shrugged off the question.
I considered my friends and family and what adjectives I would use to describe their personalities. When I tried to describe Jesus, Paul’s passage on Love came to mind (1 Corinthians 13). After all, Jesus is Love, so it was easy to substitute Jesus’ name for the word Love and get an accurate description of Jesus’ character.
“Jesus is patient, Jesus is kind. He does not envy, he does not boast, he is not proud. Jesus is not rude, he is not self-seeking, he is not easily angered…”
But when I tried to substitute my own name, the description didn’t fit, and I felt the need to make excuses for why. Once I realized how far I was from the model that Jesus provides, I felt ashamed that I was the representative He had sent to reach and connect with my community.
Now try substituting the word “Christians.” Think about how society views Christians and the church. Would they agree that Christians are not proud? Not rude? That we don’t keep a record of wrongs? What do they think of those charged with the “Good News” needed for a lost and dying world.
You can imagine my surprise later that day at the meeting when the woman I was speaking with referred to herself as a “Christian” and then quickly corrected herself saying, “I mean, ‘follower of Christ.’” Twice! Was it Mahatma Ghandi who said, “I like your Christ, I do not like your Christians. Your Christians are so unlike your Christ”?
As “followers of Christ” who reach and connect with our communities we need to do our best to live a life that is modeled after the One we claim to follow. That is a life that is patient, kind, never arrogant or rude, never rejoicing in wrongdoing, bears all things, a life of Love.
What adjectives would your friends, family or community use to describe you? How would they describe your church family? What happens when you substitute your name in 1 Corinthians 13?
