Against Me
If God is for us, who can be against us? (Romans 8:31) I have this against you, that you have left your first love. (Revelations 2:4)
To be a Christian in the Protestant tradition means to be a protester: but the important question is, protesting against what? We are a protesting people, protesting against those who disagree with us, with those whom we feel threaten us and our particular form of Christian lifestyle. And we are a frightened people, afraid that the world, our mission field, will engulf us and swallow us whole. So we give courage to each other by meeting together, by reciting our doctrines together, by excluding the world as much as possible. If Christ is for us, we remind each other and say to ourselves, who can be against us? This false courage is an aspect of our fear; the more fearful we are, the more courageous we become.
But what can we say when He is against us? Do we protest against Him? Do we make excuses? Do we point out how much worse the world is? I am not interested in the world, He says. But I have this against you. All we can do is protest with Him against ourselves. All we can do is protest with Paul that we are the chief of sinners. And if we are truly united with Him we will protest, we can't help but protest against that which He is protesting.
Are I am so aware of my brother's sin that I cannot see my own sin? Am I so busy protesting against the world and pointing out its sin that I do not see and declare my own sin? That I seek the repentance of others without myself continually finding repentance?
To be a Christian means to protest against myself.
[PV, (c)2005]
To be a Christian in the Protestant tradition means to be a protester: but the important question is, protesting against what? We are a protesting people, protesting against those who disagree with us, with those whom we feel threaten us and our particular form of Christian lifestyle. And we are a frightened people, afraid that the world, our mission field, will engulf us and swallow us whole. So we give courage to each other by meeting together, by reciting our doctrines together, by excluding the world as much as possible. If Christ is for us, we remind each other and say to ourselves, who can be against us? This false courage is an aspect of our fear; the more fearful we are, the more courageous we become.
But what can we say when He is against us? Do we protest against Him? Do we make excuses? Do we point out how much worse the world is? I am not interested in the world, He says. But I have this against you. All we can do is protest with Him against ourselves. All we can do is protest with Paul that we are the chief of sinners. And if we are truly united with Him we will protest, we can't help but protest against that which He is protesting.
Are I am so aware of my brother's sin that I cannot see my own sin? Am I so busy protesting against the world and pointing out its sin that I do not see and declare my own sin? That I seek the repentance of others without myself continually finding repentance?
To be a Christian means to protest against myself.
[PV, (c)2005]
posted by CS at 4:58 PM
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