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Monday, February 7, 2011

"Nice"

Do you think Christians are supposed to be nice? I was thinking this morning as I got dressed in all black, partially because I wanted to wear all black, partially because I must wear black/white for work later this afternoon. Black boots, black nail polish, black eye liner. Check. Sunglasses. Check. I thought to myself, I probably don't look very nice. I really am quite nice, but I don't look it. Not today.

These thoughts flowed out of a greater thought -moralism. The moral Christian. Or better said, Christianity often equals moral standards, good ethics, social responsibility. Do we look like good people? And throughout history the scales have never balanced between the two opposites, mere morality and true faith, we've either had too much of one or not enough of another. Today I think of morals. I think of what being a Christian means. I think of what Jesus would look like today. No, I don't think Jesus would be walking around looking like "The Fonz" but I also don't think he'd be a reserved, stale push-over afraid of strong opinions and fervor. From Scripture we know that simply isn't true.

Frankly, I don't meet many men and women who really believe what they're talking about. Do you really believe you have an identity endowed in the greatest and only Purpose? Do you really believe that God will never love you any more than He does right now? Do you really trust your adoption? Do you really believe are always in the shadow of His wing? Do you believe that your life must be given up to glorifying the Lamb who was slaughtered,hanging by your sin, and raised to heaven to intercede on your behalf?

Believing won't make you nice. It won't make you have good morals. It won't make your life happy. It won't satisfy the flesh. It will do so much more. It will make you like Christ. It will push and refine and it will force you to take God out of your American Dream and put Him in His proper place. God doesn't fit into our plans. God doesn't fit into our ideas of moral standards. He is bigger. Let Him be bigger.

1 comments:

Donna Boucher said...

"Nice is different than good "

I like your point that God doesn't fit into our little boxes. We should be very thankful to be under His wing in his glorious shadow.

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