No More Blog
I have decided to stop blogging. It has been good therapy for me but I find Facebook more helpful to my mental health and so I will be using it from now on.
What Brand of Jesus Do You Prefer?
Every product we buy has so many brands. You get a lot of choice. Walk down the store aisle and choose your favorite brand. Order a salad at a restaurant or a sandwich and what do you get? At least 5 choices of dressing and bread.
We make a serious mistake when we deal with Christianity that way. Being a Christian is simply about following Jesus. It starts with his love for us, his sacrifice for us and our faith in Him (Ephesians 2:8). The rest of our lives then should be a walk with Him and with others who share faith in Him.
Yet, it seems that most generations before this one have turned this life with Jesus into a brand. And not just one brand called Jesus. But a multiplicity of brands centered around ideas, people and preferences. And even though this generations show a strong rejection of Christians brands it would not surprise me if they fell into the same trap previous generations have.
Even the term, Christian, has been turned into a brand that has come to have a fairly specific political, doctrinal and social meaning that appears to be at odds with Jesus, Himself. We used to think of America as a Christian nation. This week’s Newsweek magazine questions whether that branding of America is still valid. My question is, “Was it ever a Christian nation?”. Only people can be Christians. I wish whole nations could become Christian but none ever have. You can’t baptize a nation. Jesus never asked us to. He told us to preach the gospel to people and baptize people. God’s vision is for all nations to flow into His kingdom (Isaiah 2:2).
You don’t have to pick a brand of Christianity. Jesus wants you to pick Him, not a brand (Matthew 11:28-30). He wants you to be a follower of Him not a supporter of a religious tradition. Christ’s church is simply a bunch of followers of Jesus who God has linked by the cross. It isn’t a brand. It does not supersede our relationship with God through Christ. It does not intercede for us with God. The followers of Jesus are the church.
Christianity isn’t a political, nationalistic, evolutionary movement. It is a movement in people’s hearts. Our choice of Jesus only transcends all political ideology (no matter how “Christian” it sounds, all national boundaries and all cultural evolutions. Being a follower of Jesus involves connecting with the heart and will of God.
You don’t have to choose which brand of Jesus you want. There is only one Jesus (John 3:16) and He is the one who does the choosing. And He chooses you and waits for you to accept that choice.
George
We make a serious mistake when we deal with Christianity that way. Being a Christian is simply about following Jesus. It starts with his love for us, his sacrifice for us and our faith in Him (Ephesians 2:8). The rest of our lives then should be a walk with Him and with others who share faith in Him.
Yet, it seems that most generations before this one have turned this life with Jesus into a brand. And not just one brand called Jesus. But a multiplicity of brands centered around ideas, people and preferences. And even though this generations show a strong rejection of Christians brands it would not surprise me if they fell into the same trap previous generations have.
Even the term, Christian, has been turned into a brand that has come to have a fairly specific political, doctrinal and social meaning that appears to be at odds with Jesus, Himself. We used to think of America as a Christian nation. This week’s Newsweek magazine questions whether that branding of America is still valid. My question is, “Was it ever a Christian nation?”. Only people can be Christians. I wish whole nations could become Christian but none ever have. You can’t baptize a nation. Jesus never asked us to. He told us to preach the gospel to people and baptize people. God’s vision is for all nations to flow into His kingdom (Isaiah 2:2).
You don’t have to pick a brand of Christianity. Jesus wants you to pick Him, not a brand (Matthew 11:28-30). He wants you to be a follower of Him not a supporter of a religious tradition. Christ’s church is simply a bunch of followers of Jesus who God has linked by the cross. It isn’t a brand. It does not supersede our relationship with God through Christ. It does not intercede for us with God. The followers of Jesus are the church.
Christianity isn’t a political, nationalistic, evolutionary movement. It is a movement in people’s hearts. Our choice of Jesus only transcends all political ideology (no matter how “Christian” it sounds, all national boundaries and all cultural evolutions. Being a follower of Jesus involves connecting with the heart and will of God.
You don’t have to choose which brand of Jesus you want. There is only one Jesus (John 3:16) and He is the one who does the choosing. And He chooses you and waits for you to accept that choice.
George
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)