What kind of Christian are you? (2)
“I have come that they may have life…abundantly.” Jn 10:10 NKJV Here are some questions you should ask yourself regularly: (1) Am I approachable? Speaking of the Pharisees, Jesus said, “They love the place of honor…they love to… have men call them ‘Rabbi’” (Mt 23:6-7 NIV). In Jesus’ day some rabbis had the idea that true spirituality required you to distance yourself from people. Ironically, the only Rabbi the outcasts could touch turned out to be God Himself. Jesus was the most approachable person they’d ever met. (2) Am I gracious? John Ortberg writes: “As soon as we start to pursue virtue, we begin to wonder why others aren’t as virtuous as we are. It reminds us of the reply Homer Simpson’s neighbors gave when Homer asked them where they’d been: ‘We went to a Christian camp; we were learning how to be more judgmental.’ Have you been to that camp? Does a little voice inside you categorize people: ‘This one’s needy and dependent—stay away. That one’s bright and has much to offer—try to connect.’ Why do we constantly find ourselves rating people, as though we were in some kind of contest?” (3) Am I real? A little boy in Sunday school knew the kind of answer he was supposed to give, so when the teacher asked, “What’s brown, furry, has a bushy tail and stores up nuts?” He muttered, “I guess the right answer is Jesus—but it sure sounds like a squirrel to me!” Often we try to say spiritual-sounding things to impress people, when they haven’t a clue what we are talking about. So let’s be real with ourselves—and others!
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