Tuesday, April 24, 2007

Told ya!

Well, as I confessed, I posted a couple of times and waited about five months to do it again. Two reasons:

1. I have not been doing a whole lot of introspection that seems relevant to share. Plus, couldn't think of a funny way to put it.

2. My son, Micah, has been hospitalized with RSV, a respiratory virus, and has had trouble eating by mouth. He is currently on an Nasogastral (NG) tube for feedings. It's terrible, has been a roller coaster, and we're still dealing with some issues. I'll probably post more about it later.

But, this brings me to today. I had some errands to run and one was to pick up some gifts for a couple of people. I ended up in a Christian bookstore. Nice place. Good smelling coffee, attractive layout, clean. It could be a combination of a Hallmark store and a bookstore (like Waldenbooks, not Barnes and Noble). I found what I needed, (thanks in large part to a wonderful employee), but this got me thinking...

I find it funny how often Christians feel the need to label things as Christian or not. I mean, I went to a "Christian" college, I sometimes listen to "Christian" music, I often read "Christian" books, and I even have seen some "Christian" movies. While I was in this "Christian" bookstore, I began to realize the irony of this. The fact that we choose to label inanimate things as Christian seems to be an epidemic in the last few years. There are "Christian" t-shirts, "Christian" magazines, "Christian" fill-in-the-blank. I'm reminded of something Mike Yaconelli, a youth pastor, once said, "They make WWJD (What Would Jesus Do) everything, except underwear, which is probably the thing youth need the most. At least they'd get a last minute chance to rethink their decision."

Why does this bother me? I'll tell you: by putting the label "Christian" on everything, especially inanimate things, we're missing the point. The entire goal of Christ was to animate (bring to life) the dead: us. The goal of the Christian life must be more than creating a culture in which we are bubbled off from the rest of the world by replacing everything the world offers with a "Christian" facsimile. It cannot be about keeping ourselves out of the culture of today (better phrase than "the world") so that we can stay clean. Instead, we need to be engaging the culture of today so that the life Christ is realized in others.

I'm reminded that the last words Matthew records of Jesus are, "...and lo, I will be with you always, to the very end of the age." I think some of us are afraid Jesus will walk away if we get dirty in the culture of today, so we try and protect ourselves and miss the point. Jesus is with us ALWAYS. Not dependent upon which kind of college we attend, which kind of t-shirt we wear, what kind of music we listen to, or what bookstore we purchase from. If Christ is with us always, what a great joy. We don't have to worry about losing Him. Instead, we know nothing in the culture of today can separate us. And even more importantly, wherever we go, He goes. We take him into the culture of today. Or find him in the middle of it.

Well, there's my rant. Now, don't get me wrong, I'll probably buy from the store again. I hear they're going to get some Christian cologne in soon. It smells like the River Jordan.