Not Name Calling

Don’t take offense. It is not name calling. But as Christians you and I should be like a donkey.

Of course not just any donkey, but the Palm Sunday donkey as he carried Jesus into the city. That’s us; we bear Christ (Christopher) to the cities, towns and villages in which we live.

We are not culture warriors. Ours is not to fix the broken culture around us.

Make no mistake the culture is warped. Self-centeredness. Hedonism. Isolation. Stress. Conflict. Broken marriages and families. Retribution instead of reconciliation. Hatred. Shouting. Fist shaking. It is a mixed up, muddled up, shook up world.

We are not here to fix all that. We are to bear Christ into the middle of it.

We are not isolationists. Ours is not to shelter in place.

Yes, Christians need to gather in their congregations and in their homes. We need to band together for nurture and encouragement. We give very intentional training to our children in the way of the Kingdom. We must be together to grow in faith and faithfulness. We cannot give away what we do not have.

But we dare not isolate ourselves from the world. We are to bear Christ into the middle of it.

We are not Pollyanna.  Ours is not to ignore reality.

There are real and present dangers. “Christian” is a bad “brand name”. People are antagonistic toward us. Jesus promised we’d have trouble in the world. Paul warned us about a prowling lion and an array of powers and principalities. We can’t depend on either the government or the culture for support and aid.

With eyes wide open we must remain dauntless amid such reality. We are to bear Christ into the middle of it.

As we begin this Holy Week let us not only recount the prophesied presence of the donkey, let us aspire to imitate it. Be assured inviting you to be a donkey doesn’t mean I am calling you a name. And even if others do call you names for following Jesus, carry on. Carry on daily as Christopher, bearing Christ to the world that so sorely needs him.