I have a friend who is a Christian and is in the hotel management business. The other day, we were talking about how Jesus calls us to live, and how people proclaiming to be Christians fall so far short of that. He said that during the ski season, the church youth groups (including the adult sponsors) are the worst behaved of all his patrons. He also told me of a recent experience when a well-known Christian speaker came to town for a two-day conference. He said the advance people were rude and demanding and the local planners the same. We both recalled talking with waitresses who dread working the Sunday lunch shift because of the rude customers coming to eat after church.
I am not sure that Christian customers are the worst; it just seems that way to people who expect more of Christians and are routinely disappointed. It seems, often, many Christians become so focused on what they consider important issues, such as abortion, creation/evolution, prayer in schools, and authority of Scripture, those that they deem essential to proclaiming and protecting the Kingdom of God, that they forget how important the treatment of others is in showing the love of Christ. What we do, how we act toward others, is supposed to reflect what we believe. Being rude to a waitress will not persuade her of the kindness of our God. Nor will disrespecting people and property at a hotel lead others to desire to know more about the Jesus we claim to follow.
In his essay, “The Weight of Glory,” C.S. Lewis wrote,
It is a serious thing to live in a society of possible gods and goddesses, to remember that the dullest and most uninteresting person you can talk to may one day be a creature which, if you saw it now, you would be strongly tempted to worship, or else a horror and a corruption such as you now meet, if at all, only in a nightmare. All day long we are, in some degree, helping each other to one or the other of these destinations. It is in the light of these overwhelming possibilities, it is with the awe and circumspection proper to them, that we should conduct our dealings with one another, all friendships, all loves, all play, all politics. There are no ordinary people. You have never talked to a mere mortal.
Weighty words that deserve reflection by those of us who claim to follow our Lord down the narrow path.
What Lewis writes is so crucial to understand if we are to be truly light in the midst of darkness. The reality is people often expect to be treated like crap, just not by Christians. That’s why such treatment always draws attention. They expect something different. I think they have a sense that Jesus would treat them differently and, logically, so would those who claim to follow Him. It’s a reasonable expectation. Now if we could only meet it.
So, What's This Blog About?
The title of this blog has meaning for its content. "Meandering" means "to follow a winding or intricate course" or "to wander aimlessly or casually without urgent destination." "Narrow" is defined as "something of not the normal or standard width." And "path" means "a trodden way."
I view the Christian life as one that follows a path not taken by most, but still one where many feet follow in the Savior's footsteps. And this path is a winding path, full of twists and turns, often unknown until we reach them. And as I walk this path, I find myself often wandering, not so much off the path, but to its edges, back and forth from one side to the other. For the path is narrow, but it's not a line. There is room for movement, for exploration. And as Christians walk it at the same time, we do not form a straight line; we do not need to. The path is wide enough to accommodate our interests, our gifts, our personalities, and even our stumbles.
So this is the journey I want to write about. I am sure it will evolve as time goes along, but I want to write in a genuine, thought-provoking way about walking along this path that we are promised leads to real life. And in writing I hope to encourage you the reader to think seriously and perhaps gain new appreciation for the path on which we walk.
I view the Christian life as one that follows a path not taken by most, but still one where many feet follow in the Savior's footsteps. And this path is a winding path, full of twists and turns, often unknown until we reach them. And as I walk this path, I find myself often wandering, not so much off the path, but to its edges, back and forth from one side to the other. For the path is narrow, but it's not a line. There is room for movement, for exploration. And as Christians walk it at the same time, we do not form a straight line; we do not need to. The path is wide enough to accommodate our interests, our gifts, our personalities, and even our stumbles.
So this is the journey I want to write about. I am sure it will evolve as time goes along, but I want to write in a genuine, thought-provoking way about walking along this path that we are promised leads to real life. And in writing I hope to encourage you the reader to think seriously and perhaps gain new appreciation for the path on which we walk.
About Me
- Jim and Marianna Musser
- We are heading out on a great adventure of faith as we seek to raise an additional $800 in monthly support. The Lord revealed to us it was time for Marianna to quit her other part-time job to focus more on ministry to students. So we are headed out on a three-week, eight state trip to visit with current supporters and to see old friends and former students. We love campus ministry and are trusting the Lord to meet our needs. This blog will offer you the opportunity to follow us around the country. We will update you on where we are, who were seeing and our progress in reaching our support-raising goal. We hope you will join us on our great adventure!
Check out Jim's Daily Devotional: Words from the Well
Follow this link to Words from the Well: http://jimswftw.blogspot.com Or subscribe by e-mailing wordsfromthewell@yahoo.com and putting SUBSCRIBE in the subject heading.
2 comments:
Case in point about why NOT to put Jesus fish on the back of your car. Just last week on NPR's "Car Talk" their interstitial song of the week was titled "I just got the middle finger from an old lady with a 'Honk if you Love Jesus' sticker on her bumper." Yeesh.
Jim, where is your avatar?
Post a Comment