Lately I have been obsessed with a singular thought…in a sentence…How do we (as Christians) give Jesus a bad name? I can look at my own past and flinch in complete disgust over the tears piled upon years of what I like to call my ‘bipolar’ season of faith—in one moment, fully believing God based on who He is—satisfied in the unknown, completely content & in awe of the sheer fact that God has allowed me one more breath on this earth to make His Name famous. Yet other times, within the same day even, shifting from a high of faith to a low of doubt—in this case, believing God simply based on what He has done in my life—what I could see, taste, touch, & feel that would determine my future action or inaction.
The truth is, as Christians, we are all prone (often without intention) to give Jesus a bad name, and in turn, give others Christ-followers (i.e. the church) a bad name. Personally, I completely understand why an ‘outsider’ would be scared to step one foot into a church worship service. I also understand why an unbeliever would want nothing to do with Jesus or the Christian faith. If this sounds harsh to you, give me a minute to prove my point. In fact, give me a few summer months of blogging to do so.
To vent my concern for myself & all of us who so easily (although often unintentionally), run people away from the Cross instead of to the Cross, I am starting a new blog series entitled, “Dumb Stuff We Christians Do.”
For the record, I am using my own life as an example, so that no one can feel I am personally calling them out. I alone have plenty of back-story to give weeks of examples of dumb stuff I do to make others not want to be a part of the grace & mercy Jesus offers. First on the list of dumb stuff we do…
#1—we forget who we are.
A few weeks ago I received an email from a girl I have not seen or spoken with in years. The email was very mature & spiritually sound as she was asking my forgiveness for her reaction, several years ago, when a secret sin of mine hit the light of day. She, along with many others in my hometown, shared a common reaction to me—they scattered as far away from me like a flock of birds to a gunshot! In her apology, (which I humbly accepted & did not deserve), she expressed a very normal, human reaction that she had struggled with in regards to me post-repentance. Perhaps you are now or have struggled with a similar gut-reaction. The internal conflict being—how quickly I got back up after being down.
Basically, how could I launch a public teaching ministry so shortly after struggling & being in bondage to sin in my own life? A valid & normal “Christian concern”…that is, if the Bible didn’t smash it to smithereens in one verse…
“But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.” 2 Cor. 12:9
God isn’t scouring the universe looking for a perfect person through whom He can display His power and glory—therefore, you shouldn’t be either!
He’s looking for the perfect person. And the perfect person is a person whose weakness provides God and His power with an opportunity to make their life unexplainable. (Which, by the way, has been my fervent and daily prayer since being released from the bondage of my sin—“May it be so obviously You God, that no one might doubt it—even me.”)
One of the dumbest things we can do as Christians, that is also a sure-fire way to run people away from you, your church, or the faith, is to forget who we are. And you know you have forgotten who you are, the moment you feel you have any right whatsoever to form an opinion of another person, and/or what God is doing in their life. It is also a clear indicator that you are off track if you are looking for a big, God-sized move to land on a person who “has their act together.”
For some reason, Christians are always looking for huge ministries & blessings to emerge from those who have a lot of money, drive nice cars, lead small group Bible studies, have been to seminary, are at church every time the doors open, and have led a seemingly good, moral life. And don’t get me wrong—it is not to say that this is never the case with God, I will just say that it is rarely the case with God—simply because God knows that His power & plan can best be seen through our weakest moment. When we are empty, we are able to be full of Him. When we are broken, we are able to be healed by Him. When our sinful ways have taken us to the floor (as in my case), only He is able to restore us & pick us back up!
Whenever there is none of you left, it is the only time that He can fully reign in your life.
“Yet You Lord are our Father. We are the clay, You are the Potter; We are all the work of your hand.” Is. 64:8
Christian, when we forget who we are (i.e. the clay) we are giving Jesus & His followers a bad name. When you want to question the “why” of something that is, or is not, happening in someone’s life, it is as if one lump of clay is looking at another lump of clay & believing that they have any power or relevancy over their lump (i.e. life). I’m sure you will agree—only the Potter is capable of doing anything with the clay—molding it, shaping it, or just plain wiping it out!
When we begin to behave, think and speak of others as one lump of clay to another, no better or no worse—just grace-covered clay, we will avoid the all-too-popular “dumb” maneuver and see Christ glorified all the more through remembering who we are and whose we are—a lowly lump of clay in the almighty Potter’s Hands.
Kasey Van Norman is the founder of KVM; a ministry devoted to speaking spiritual vitality into the lives of others in a relevant and refreshing way. Kasey’s teaching style radiates a unique authenticity as she speaks to a generation of people tired of hypocrisy and hungry for transparent leaders. A conference speaker and author with Tyndale House Publishers, Kasey’s first book, Named by God, is set for a spring 2012 release, with her second book,Raw Faith, shortly to follow. She resides in College Station, TX, with her husband, Justin, and their two children; Emma Grace (6) and Lake (3). To learn more about Kasey’s ministry, check out kaseyvannorman.com Twitter: @KaseyVanNorman Blog: kaseyvannorman.com/blog
