...trudging into the distance in the bleeding stinking mad shadow of Jesus...the Lord out of dust had created him, had made him blood and nerve and mind, had made him to bleed and weep and think, and set him in a world of loss and fire... --Flannery O'Connor
4.29.2015
The Test of a Christian
Whoever says, “I abide in Christ,” ought to walk just as he walked.
“Especially among Christians in positions of wealth and power, the idea of reading the Gospels and keeping Jesus' commandments as stated therein has been replaced by a curious process of logic. According to this process, people first declare themselves to be followers of Christ, and then they assume that whatever they say or do merits the adjective "Christian". From his book,
Blessed are the Peacemakers: Christ's Teachings of Love, Compassion, and Forgiveness
A great little book; a giant compared to pamphlets found in most church tract racks. Of course that is not surprising in areas where wealth and power have been "baptized", while compassion and peace are feared as weaknesses.
Amen!
ReplyDeleteWendell Berry writes:
“Especially among Christians in positions of wealth and power, the idea of reading the Gospels and keeping Jesus' commandments as stated therein has been replaced by a curious process of logic. According to this process, people first declare themselves to be followers of Christ, and then they assume that whatever they say or do merits the adjective "Christian".
From his book,
Blessed are the Peacemakers: Christ's Teachings of Love, Compassion, and Forgiveness
A great little book; a giant compared to pamphlets found in most church tract racks. Of course that is not surprising in areas where wealth and power have been "baptized", while compassion and peace are feared as weaknesses.
Without "Christ in Me" I am a miserable failure.
ReplyDelete...been there...
ReplyDeleteCf. contemporary question and answer based on Luke 10:25ff.:
ReplyDeleteQ: "How can I be saved?"
A: "Wrong question: Go, be compassionate and kind to (not convert!) a Muslim."
Thank God for grace for our ever-imperfect tries.
ReplyDelete