This is not about my political opinions. I will not be involved in a conversation about who I am voting for. So, lets get it straight right here, up front, this is not about that.
However, I do want to say I am so up-to-here fed up with the new phenomenon that has developed lately, especially in this season of political races, that if your opinion is different than my opinion, I have to be offended, you have to be wrong, and I have to blast you with ridicule and contempt for daring to oppose me. Because I believe differently than you does not mean you must mock or taunt me. Your freedom to speak your thoughts does not supersede my freedom to speak my thoughts. Your opinion is no more correct than mine, except in your own opinion.
What happened to polite conversation? What happened to a friendly debate? What happened that has brought us to the point of attacking a person for simply believing differently than we do? Friends, we need to step back and evaluate what we are becoming. Why are we allowing ourselves to feed off hatred and spew the bitterness it breeds?
As representatives of Jesus, we carry the name of Christ. They were first called Christians at Antioch. You will read that in Acts 11:26. I saw a Facebook post commenting on this and decided to dig a little deeper. From what I have learned, the name Christian was given to the disciples as a nickname of sorts. Outsiders called them that; it wasn't a name they used for themselves. According to MacLaren, "It (the name Christian) was given at the first by the inhabitants of the Syrian city of Antioch, to a new sort of people that had sprung up amongst them, and whom they could not quite make out. They would not fit into any of their categories, and so they had to invent a new name for them."
I ask you, are you fitting in to the categories of the world or are you such a misfit that you have to be given a unique nickname? Are you falling into the trap of standing up and fighting for your own rights in a hateful and forceful way, thus alienating anyone who might otherwise converse and interact with you in a way that would allow you to share the good news of Jesus with them? Are people looking at you and wondering why you are different or are you so caught up in having your opinions heard and agreed to that you are just another voice in a concerto of sarcasm and sneers?
MacLaren goes on to say, "...this name suggests that the clear impression made by our conduct and character, as well as by our words, should be that we belong to Jesus Christ." What is the clear impression people have of you? Is your conduct declaring to the world that you belong to Jesus? What about your character? Does it reflect Jesus to those who are watching you when you think they aren't? What about your words? Is venom erupting from your mouth because someone dares to oppose your view? Let's decide to be sure and certain we are behaving in such a way that Jesus Christ is represented well and people watching us will have to say we are so different we can't fit into any category this world has to offer. Let's live so that they HAVE to call us Christian!
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