The above quote is one
by Mahatma Gandhi that I have recently run across. It somehow resonated
with me, so much so that I bought the bumper sticker! Now, I
am not suggesting that we as Christians are expected
to try to be just like Jesus. No one can live under such a weight of
pressure and guilt. Neither am I defending Gandhi for his religious
beliefs. But at the same time, we cannot simply dismiss someone
with such an enormous impact for good . If we have integrity,
we have to be willing to think hard about what he said about Christians.
Phillip Yancey helped me see this in his book The Soul Survivor.
Listen to a story he
retells in that book:
Gandhi and Reverend
Andrews, a Presbyterian missionary, were walking together in South
Africa. “The two suddenly find their way blocked by young thugs.
Reverend Andrews takes one look at the menacing gangsters and decides to run
for it. Gandhi stops him. ‘Doesn’t the New Testament say if an
enemy strikes you on the right cheek you should offer him the left?’
Andrews mumbles that he thought the phrase was used metaphorically. ‘I’m
not so sure,’ Gandhi replies. ‘I suspect he meant you must show courage -
be willing to take a blow, several blows, to show you will not strike back nor
will you be turned aside. And when you do that it calls on something in
human nature, something that makes his hatred decrease and his respect
increase. I think Christ grasped that and I have seen it work.’”
This active
nonviolence that Gandhi preached and practiced brought freedom to the
millions of Indians previoiusly called Untouchables. He began by giving
them a new name. Rather thanUntouchables, he called them Harijans, or Children of God. He called them
brothers and stayed in their homes as much as possible. This was radical
because others would not be seen with them and would not dare touch them much
less talk to them and fellowship with them. One hundred million people in
India now call themselves by a blessing rather than a curse because of the
courage of this man. He believed in the dignity of each person, women,
lepers, lower caste members, children. The Scriptures make clear that the
poor and needy are close to the heart of God, and they were close to Gandhi’s
heart as well. Whatever you think about his religious beliefs, and no
matter how much you or I may disagree with his beloved religion of hinduism, he
shows us a beautiful picture in a human life lived in humility, peace, and
courageous love.
Okay, so why am I
writing about Gandhi and asking us to contemplate what he said about “our
Christ and our Christians?”
Because I am grieved
that we are not showing forth the heart of Christ. I am grieved that
someone like Gandhi could like Christ but not see his likeness in those called
by his name. I am grieved that when Jesus walked this earth, sinners
flocked to him as a safe place, and while they still do so today, often the church is not
that place at all. I am grieved that this quote from Gandhi too often
reflects the true sentiments of multitudes of people today.
I know there are no
perfect churches. My dad often jokes that if you find a perfect church,
don’t let him join it because it won’t be perfect anymore! (I’m
right there with you, dad.) So I’m not talking about trying harder to be
and act and “just do” what Jesus did.
But I am talking about
humbling ourselves before him and asking him to search our hearts, and to
show us ourselves and the real Jesus with spiritual eyes. I am also talking about asking him to make us
attractive to “sinners”, for us to be people who “join the rest of the human
race.” To become one follower of Christ that gives someone
somewhere a taste of the heart of God.
Rather than try harder
to be like Christ, we need the real Christ to show himself in our lives, and that begins with
brokenness. Letting others see the real us. Letting him shine through the broken places.
Stopping the show of perfection, because it repells those outside the church.
(and a lot of those within the church as well!) Where did we get the idea
that we have to “set a good example” anyway? That usually ends in
superficiality at best and hypocrisy at worst. Let us admit that we
fall short, that yes, the church has failed, that we often don’t show his
love. This type of honesty may be just what it takes to begin to
draw others to the perfection of Christ, through our admission of our own imperfection.
In Blue Like Jazz, Donald Miller tells a story of a few
Christian friends building a “confessional booth” on their college campus on
the biggest party night of the year. As people would stroll by, they
would begin to talk to them, and instead of encouraging the “sinners” and
“party-ers” to confess their sins, the Christians would confess their own
failings and apologize to them for the actions of the church over history and
even in current events. It was an interesting and powerful twist, and
they made a few friends that night.
So, if anyone is still
reading who likes the idea of Christ but can’t stand the Christians you have
met or the ones you’ve heard about, please hear my heartfelt apology.
Many claim the name of Christ but do not really follow him. And those of
us who really know him, we screw up all the time in showing his love and
acceptance and forgiveness.
But he is “gentle and humble in heart.” And if
you are weary, like I am, hear his invitation, “Cometo me, all you who are weary and
burdened, and you will find rest for your souls.”
This is the only hope
I have. Life has beat me up too much to still believe that I can get my
act together and that everyone else should too. If Christ doesn’t
offer hope for real people in thereal world
with real problems, we should all chuck him and just try
to have a good time.
But he does.
He has done so for
me. Again and again. And I still need him as much as the first day
I met him. And though I forget him, run from him, rage at him at times,
question his plans, and fail to love like he does, he is ALWAYS a safe haven of rest to my weary
soul. And even if you don’t like the Christians you know or know
of, I think you would really like this Christ
Loved this note by
Mongoose Mom and also the response by Barb
I’ve heard that
quote/story from Gandhi before and it saddens me. It also maddens me because I
know many Christians who are living love to the unlovable but their stories
aren’t paraded around the world. That’s not what the gospel is about - parading
it’s humility for the world to see. Brothers and sisters are visiting the
wounded, healing the broken, feeding the hungry, etc. everywhere and everyday.
Their stories are unwritten and untold.
Yeah, the hypocrites are out there too and
their stories tend to be broadcast more than the quiet ones. But aren’t we all
hypocrites anyway and Christ loves us anyway and uses us anyway?
