In the world I see some great contradictions. As I walk around the community, I see some great people doing great, loving things for others. I would say that I see Christ clearly working in them. Yet, they are not a part of any faith community.
One of my friends from college was a very vocal atheist. She would talk about how brainwashed we Christians were, and she would attend chapel periodically, pointing out the hypocracy of its people and its proceedings. Yet, she was the first one to jump on the plane and teach a village in Africa how to survive the dry years in a sustainable way. “Never lose hope, there’s a way,” she would promise them. I saw that Christ had chosen her for a great purpose, but she could not see it. She was the love of Christ, but she could not bring herself to admit it. It was a great contradiction.
Maggie was also a great contradiction of life. I changed her name protect the guilty. Maggie was a member of a church my dad used to serve. This woman made Mussolini look like a pansy. Sunday School teachers feared her coming down the hall to “check in” on their teaching abilities. The woman had driven nearly half of the Lutheran congregation away and, in an indirect way, convinced each of the people leaving that the other church in town, the hard line fundamentalist Bible church, was a seedbed of love. Though this woman never served communion, she would presume to walk up into the altar, stand right next to the pastor, and expect to be served first. Of course, she had some good in her; she knew how to praise…people’s lack of faith. “Isn’t it wonderful you’re here today. I guess once a month might keep you out of hell. Not my decision.”
Somehow Maggie saw the love of Christ in herself, but no one else could. Though she was baptized, we could not imagine why she was in the church. It was a great contradiction.
Of course, that is the rub about Christianity is it not? We have grandiose ideas such as this one from Ephesians that reads, “He chose us in Christ before the foundation of the world to be holy and blameless before him in love. He destined us for adoption as his children through Jesus Christ, according to the good pleasure of his will, to the praise of his glorious grace that he freely bestowed on us in the Beloved.”
The Lord adopted us without even getting to know us first. Christ made the choice to make us his own before night and day, earth and land were even separated. Christ made a choice, and Christ is sticking to it. Even if it means keeping Maggie, Christ is sticking to the choice.
I guess that I can accept that. I may not like it, but I can accept that. I can understand how that sort of choice works. One of the great contradictions in life is that those young adults who find themselves head-over-heals with one another, who choose not to move in together before marriage, statistically have a much lower divorce rate. At first it seems to go against logic. The common thought today is that it would be smart to move in together and test to see whether or not it will work before making such a big commitment. But, the statistics show that it is not so smart. The statistics reveal a higher divorce rate for those who move in together before marriage than those who do not.
I think it is about the choice. Those who choose not to move in with each other before marriage have made a choice to be with this person no matter what their loved one's breath smells like in the morning. They made a choice, and they stick to it. Christ made a choice in adopting us, and he is sticking to it.
In my college theatre shop, during my senior year, there came a new and promising young scenic designer. He was a little green around the ears, he had a lot to learn, and there was a lot that I could teach him. He was not great, but we could all see that he was going to be great. I chose to take him under my care. I chose to let him know all that I had learned; we wanted him to succeed.
Well, there came the day that I learned the amount of the scholarship that had been given him. The thing was three times the amount that I had been given. I am not trying to boast here, but I was great coming into the program! My heart was full of grace and love, but my head was saying, “what the heck!” I had given four years of dedication! What am I chopped liver?
I could have proceeded to ruin this fellow, to put him in the pit with all other scenic scenic design failures, but it was too late. I had already chosen him. He was mine.
Ephesians tells us that Christ thinks that way. The adoption is made. It is final. Christ has chosen us and there is not anything we can do to change it. We cannot show that we deserve it, nor can we destroy it. The choice has nothing to do with us. It is Christ’s choice, and he is sticking too it.
Of anything, this is all I wanted that wonderful atheist friend of mine to understand. She was right when she made fun of us. We were a bunch of hypocrites who preached loving one another Sunday morning and then left church to go be rude to waitresses at the diner afterwards. She was right about us. But where she was right was also where she was wrong. The faith is not about us. The faith is not about her. Christ has made his choice. There is nothing I or she can do about it. What I really wanted her to see is that Christ had obviously chosen her also. Scriptures say that “God is love.” And, she was very loving; sacrificing her life for others in Africa; it was obvious that Christ had chosen her. I just wanted her to know that. Maybe one day she will.
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