Nov. 15, 2015

Robert Raines tells of a parishioner who was arguing with her boss about a controversial subject. "Did you get that idea from the funny little church you attend?" he asked.

Caught by surprise, the secretary "burned in silence" for a full 15 minutes.

Then, having regained her composure, she said, "I’m glad my ‘funny little church’ shows."

Does your church show? Does it mark you in some way as a follower of Jesus Christ? Is there anything distinctive about your way of life that identifies you as a Christian? Don’t you think there ought to be some way of identifying a Christian short of a "lucky-number-program" or a "HELLO" badge?

Perhaps some of us are like the young man who went to a logging camp one summer to earn money for college. Some of the people of his church were concerned he would be picked on because his Christian principles might clash with the profane values of the logging camp.

"How did it go?" they asked him eagerly when he returned at the end of summer.

"Oh, fine," he replied reassuringly, "they never suspected a thing!"

It is true Christians do not wear distinctive clothing or uniforms. They flash no badges, memorize no secret passwords, nor do they greet each other with special handclasps or signs. Few carry Bibles or pray conspicuously in public.

Is there nothing, then, that sets the Christian apart from others?

Jesus did not believe mere externals and appearances made his followers different or unique. The Pharisees made every effort to appear to be "different," but he regarded these efforts as so much playacting (hypocrisy).

They wore distinctive fringes on their robes, stood and prayed conspicuously in the marketplaces, sat in the chief seats at public feasts and went about with unwashed faces to indicate they were fasting: "PLEASE NOTE: I’M SUFFERING FOR GOD!" Yet, despite all this easy identification, Jesus says they are hypocrites.

The distinctive marks of his followers were to be not so much a matter of physical appearance and showy public conduct, but of values – what they held to be important and desirable. Although these values were not intended to draw attention as such, they could not help but seem revolutionary. They seemed to be exactly contrary to what was held important by the religious authorities. No wonder they said Jesus and his disciples were turning everything upside-down.

Happiness, most people thought, con-sisted in prosperity, public favor and free-dom from adversity. Not so, said Jesus, for happy (blessed) are those who are poor, hungry, in sorrow and in want. The greatest happiness was promised to those whom most people regarded as failures.

Further, he proclaimed this same happiness to those who would suffer because of their loyalty to him. Following him would be no guarantee against adversity. In fact, it is more likely to be a guarantee of some hardship, for whenever someone tries to follow Christ there is bound to be, sooner or later, a crucifixion of some kind.

It is difficult to know just what the disciples of Jesus expected that day when he called them to be his apostles. They must have realized to some degree that ever after, they would be marked men in their society – although it is likely they did not understand how radically they would be set apart because of their decision to follow the Nazarene.

Increasingly they came to understand that to be his disciple required great courage and faith. To follow Jesus meant living a life that often was radically different from the norm of everyday life in Israel.

The values of Jesus are no less revo-lutionary today than they were in the days of his earthly ministry. Whenever a person seeks sincerely to follow him today, he cannot help but be marked as different – disturbingly, but wonderfully, different.

Let’s be honest: Does your Christianity show?

The religion of the scribes and the Pharisees "showed" and, in fact, Jesus castigated them because they were so obvious with their piety. If that is so, maybe it is better that we keep our Christianity pretty much "under wraps." What do you think?

What are the distinctive marks of Christ in your life? Apart from what you say about your faith, does your Christianity show?

Looking at Luke 6:12,13, what relationship, if any, do you see between these two verses? Examine the list of apostles whom Jesus appointed in verses 13-16.

Luke doesn’t tell us much about these men at this point. Why do you think Jesus called these particular 12, especially when you consider none of them were priests or scribes, and none were highly-educated or people of high social or economic station in life?

The views and opinions expressed in this column are those of the author and not necessarily those of Farm World.