That Geeky Christian

I love Christmas!  Always have.  I’m one of those people who can listen to Christmas music in June.  It doesn’t matter to me that it’s 100 degrees outside, if I’m in the A/C and listening to Jingle Bells, somehow I imagine that it’s 40 degrees outside and I’m about to spread some holiday cheer.  I know it’s weird, but hey, it’s been 70 most of December in Alabama this year anyway.

I’ve been doing a lot of thinking about Christmas, and what it means.  Of course, to talk about Christmas, we should read about the first Christmas.

Luke 2

¹And it came to pass in those days that a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be registered. ²This census first took place while Quirinius was governing Syria. ³So all went to be registered, everyone to his own city.

⁴Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of David, ⁵to be registered with Mary, his betrothed ^£wife, who was with child. ⁶So it was, that while they were there, the days were completed for her to be delivered. ⁷And she brought forth her firstborn Son, and wrapped Him in swaddling cloths, and laid Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.

⁸Now there were in the same country shepherds living out in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night. ⁹And behold, an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were greatly afraid. ¹⁰Then the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people. ¹¹For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. ¹²And this will be the sign to you: You will find a Babe wrapped in swaddling cloths, lying in a manger.”

¹³And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying:

¹⁴ “Glory to God in the highest,

And on earth peace, goodwill toward men!”

That’s what this season is all about right there.  The birth of our Savior, our heavenly father, John 3:16 says:

¹⁶For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.

God gave us all a gift on that day in Bethlehem.  You know, not everyone knew that Jesus was special at his birth.  Remember the innkeepers?  They saw no more than a young couple wanting a room, and with nothing special to offer, turned them away.  I see a lot of parallels between the innkeepers and many of us today.  You see, to the innkeeper, Joseph and Mary were just two people and their baby would be no more than another citizen; nothing special.  They turned them away and never thought twice.  Why would they?  Chances are they had turned away a hundred others before them.

You see, many people today do the same thing.  They celebrate this season, with no thought of why it’s special.  Many know that the season of Christmas is to celebrate Christ’s birth, but have no frame of reference for what that means.  I’ve seen so many shows and movies that talk about “Christmas Spirit” and how to get it, and almost every one of them talks about giving.  “The season of giving.”

Boy do we give.  We give and we give and we give.  Buy, buy, buy.  That’s what Christmas has become.  Every store knows it.  They put out the displays before October is over.  It was the strangest sensation this year to go to Sam’s Club in October and see the Halloween costumes on one side of an aisle, and Christmas decorations being put out on the other.  They don’t do it to be Politically Correct, but because they know that they will make money off Christmas!  We as Christians fall into the trap as badly as anyone.  Don’t get me wrong.  I love giving gifts.  I like to see people light up when I’ve picked the right present.  However, without the right focus, we may as well be just wasting money.  When we lose sight of the real reason for the season, Jesus’ birth, we fall into the trap of consumerism.

Matthew 6:19

¹⁹“Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal; ²⁰but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. ²¹For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

When we simply exchange gifts just for the sake of gifts… we fall into a trap of storing up goods for ourselves.  If not for ourselves, we fall into helping others into a trap of storing up goods.  How many times have you seen people not be satisfied with their Christmas because they didn’t get something they wanted?  We should focus on Jesus.  We should place our emphasis on glorifying Him.

Don’t get me wrong.  Presents, and food, and everything are great, but the real reason we celebrate is that God gave us the ultimate gift, His son.  We celebrate because we have been given the ultimate gift.  We have been given the greatest opportunity of all time, a chance to live life eternally with our father in heaven, a gift we didn’t deserve!

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I don’t know about you, but I hate stereotypes.  You simply cannot group people together accurately by using broad generalizations.  The problem, however, is a stereotype is grown out of many people acting the same way over a long time.  Christianity has become stereotyped in this day and age.  Listen to some with an opposing view, and you’ll hear some very negative things about those of our faith.

How did those views form?  Why is it that Christians are labeled as bigots, closed minded, or full of hate?  Why do non-Christians get heated when Christians stand for what they believe in?  Did they just make up accusations?  Of course not, they have seen people act in these ways over the years.  For all too long Christians have, in the name of Christ, discriminated against people who did not match what they viewed as “good Christians.”

Jesus did not call us to discriminate.  He did not ever say we are allowed to judge others.  He never said that it was okay for us to leave those in a hurt and dying world in the state that they are currently in.  By contrast, we are commanded to spread His gospel to and create disciples in the entire world.

So, how do you change the way Christians are viewed?  Simple, live like Christ.  Live oppositely from how Christians have been viewed over the years.  Change minds by showing that you are different.  It’s time for Christianity to come back to Christ!  It starts with us.  We are the future and present of the church.  It will take many of us a long time to create a new stereotype for Christians, one which is more like Christ, but it’s worth it!

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Children love bubbles.  My niece received all sorts of bubble blowing items for her third birthday.  She spent countless minutes having people blow bubbles as she laughed and played among them.  For a three year old, that’s a long time, and with bubble blowing it’s even longer for the adult who creates the bubbles!

Allow me to get “scientific” for a moment; bubbles are thin films of a soap-like substance that when filled with air “float” around with the wind.  They are kept together with surface tension.  When that tension breaks, the bubble bursts.

Today’s Christians have, in a lot of cases gone into a “Christian bubble,” often held together by surface tension.  They are bonded by a common belief that the rest of the world is bad, and not to be interacted with.  The problem, however, is that the Christian bubble is not the model that our Lord, Jesus, lived.  Jesus spent his time with all walks of life, and left changed persons behind.  As Christians, we are called to live according to his example which means not in a bubble.

My niece loves playing with bubbles, but only when she can catch and break them.  I think we can learn a lot from her.  Let’s go out and break some Christian bubbles!  It could be the most fun you’ve ever had!

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At any sporting event, fans are the “extra man” on the field with the players.  Some stadiums are feared simply because the fans that fill it can be so loud.  Fans can shift the momentum of a game, drown out on field calls, and generally disrupt an opposing team’s plans.  When at Alabama, I loved being in the student section.  Most of the times it was the rowdiest, loudest, and most amazing place to watch the game.  Students would yell the cheers, dance with the band, and keep momentum going even when it didn’t look so good.

I remember one year, however, the student section wasn’t that great.  The year was 2000, and as any good follower of Alabama knows, the team went 3-8 that year.  That’s right, 3 wins and 8 losses.  I vividly remember being the sole student standing in my section during one particularly sad game.  It bothered me so much because I saw such potential in the team.  I knew that if we just got behind them they could pull it out.  The other students were not buying it, though.  They had seen so much poor play from our team and good play from the others that they were content to sit and watch it play out.

In our fight against the enemy, which fan do you resemble?  Are you so focused on the bad things in the world that you are content to sit and watch them unfold?  Have you been so upset by the actions of the others on your team (Christians) that you’ve given up hope on Christianity as a whole, or are you still looking at that spark?  If you are like me, you see all the potential for good in Christ’s church today!  Are we all perfect? No, but we can still pull this out if the supporters get behind us!  The difference in this battle, however, is that the supporters are also in the fight!  Everyone who is sitting and watching as the play unfolds is missing an opportunity to change the situation!  Will you stand up with me?  Cheer on your fellow brothers and sisters while you fight and they cheer for you!  Together we can have a positive impact on the lives of others.

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The world is cold, heartless, and dead. It’s full of evil, and not getting any better. Everyone around is horrible, and should be avoided. Any of these things sound familiar? It seems that many today hold some or all of these beliefs. They’ve given up hope in this world. People have become complacent, and just accept that things are the way they are.

So, the question that nags is, “Who Cares?” Who cares that this world is falling apart? Who cares that it doesn’t seem to be getting any better? Who cares that so many people are hurting? To answer, Jesus cares. He gave His life for us. He gave His life for everyone. It was His choice to die for this world, and He cares that it’s cold, heartless and dead. He cares that people are hurting, and that evil persists. Jesus cares that His people are persecuted across the globe.

He cares, and wants those who follow Him to care also. We are His representation in this world. We, as Christians, are who the rest of the world looks to for an image of Christ. We should care enough to do everything we can to change things. The great commission is to make disciples of all nations. We should be the voice of reason in this world. We should be the heart, and compassion. The loudest voice against injustice should come from Christians. Who cares? We do!

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I’ve never really been one who likes to be the same as everyone else.  I’m not sure why, but I just like to be unique.  Maybe it’s because I’m the oldest child in my family so I didn’t have an older sibling to look up to, or maybe it’s because I don’t like being seen how other people think I should be.  You know, people make judgments about other people based on a number of reasons.  Maybe they see someone wears glasses so they assume he or she is smart.  It could be that if you play guitar people assume you like rock music, or if they see a guy playing football in college they assume he wants to play professionally.

The problem is, however, that you can’t possibly know what someone believes, thinks, or desires by looking at the exterior things in his or her life.  You have to get to know him or her to know what he or she is really about.  It’s impossible to understand how to talk to people about things like faith or anything else real without knowing how they feel.

If you know that you can’t talk to people about anything real without getting to know them then why is it that so many Christians are just shouting from rooftops about Jesus without finding out why people don’t believe?  If we begin to understand why people are not following Christ then we can begin to understand how to show Him to them.  In order to do that, we need to be different.

We need to act like Jesus, and many followers have forgotten to do that.  We need to show love when others would shun.  We need to be a blessing when others are cursing.  We should be the light in a dark world.  I am tired of being categorized with people who claim to follow Jesus, but look nothing like Him.  I want to be different.  Won’t you be different also?

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