I think often we have this idea as Christians that people look at us and see in us something they want. That just being around us is enough to make them realise that we’re ‘distinctive’, that there’s something different about us that they want for their lives and then they become Christians. I’ve heard this idea preached about and talked about so many times. But honestly, I’m not sure how true it is. Firstly, it doesn’t obviously work; if it did then there wouldn’t be as many people that were close to us that weren’t Christians. Surely they would have ‘seen the light’ by now. But as far as I can see, I’ve got plenty of non-Christian friends who are quite happy with their lives, and don’t particularly want what I’ve got. They’re quite happy for me to believe what I believe but they don’t want it. Should my job be to convince them that they need to change?
Jesus says that we’re called to be ‘light of the world’, that we should be distinctive and shine goodness where there is darkness, to show people the glory of the kingdom of God. My worry is that we’ve not got something the world wants anymore. What does the world see in Christian living that it wants? Often I think it sees only frigid, self denying, uptight, sexually frustrated hypocrites. That’s not to say that this is always the case, I think that there are genuine ‘lights’ out there. But I’m not one of them. It’s a little ignorant of us to assume that if our friends were all a little more like us and believed what we did that they would be better off. I think if we have the idea that just by being a Christian we’re a ‘light’ into their lives, we’re mistaken. Of course it could be that the world just can’t realise how much it needs what we’ve got. I’ve often heard the idea that we’re somehow ‘deep down’ happier and more content in a way that a non-Christian can never be. But I know plenty of miserable, grumpy Christians and plenty of genuine contented non-Christians. So what is it that I’ve got that makes me so ‘distinctive’; that makes me ‘light in the darkness’?
God’s promise to Abraham and his descendents was:
“I will make you into a great nation and I will bless you; I will make your name great and you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse, and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.”
I think this still is the promise God makes to us today. That because of the blessings he pours on us, that we can be a blessing to this world. The Jews had something that everyone wanted; victory assured in battle, security from their enemies. Today I think the perception of Christianity is that it’s all about moderation and abstinence. We become Christians and believe in God so that we can ‘go to heaven’ when we die, then we live our lives not having sex until we’re married, not getting drunk, not swearing and living by a bunch of out dated moral rules. Basically having less fun than everyone else but not being much different other than that. I think it’s summed up quite well in a Laura Marling lyric: “I sold my soul to Jesus and since then I’ve had no fun”. Rather than looking at Christians and thinking that they’re missing out on something I think most people think that it’s us that are somehow missing out.
If we’re no different to our friends who don’t know Jesus, then this isn’t really surprising. If the difference is that I go to Church on a Sunday, read my bible every day, drink a little less and don’t have sex then I don’t think we really understand ‘distinctiveness’. This isn’t something that the world wants to pursue. And to be honest, I don’t really blame them. If this is the only difference, then how am I in a position to tell someone they should live differently? When Jesus is talking about Salt & Light, I don’t think this is what he meant. The light of the world is not watered down, easy comfortable Christian living. It isn’t living like everyone else with a ‘secret guide’ telling us how to do it better than everyone else. Sometimes we have the tendency to think that Christian living is about living how others live but with our own built in sat-nav telling us what to do next.
If we don’t start seeking real kingdom transformation in our lives then we’re in danger of losing all relevance to this generation of people who are happy with what they’ve got. How can we expect people to change, how can we expect that we will be a blessing if we’ve got nothing to give? The kingdom of God is not an ‘ad-on’ to our lives, an enhancement to what we’re already doing, it is radical transformation. It is denying yourself to seek God's kingdom. Until I can see transformation in my life, I don’t expect anyone to notice what I’ve got, and why should they?
I think the imagery of ‘light’ is quite significant in what Jesus says. If we spend all of our time in comfortable Christianity it’s no wonder we’re not particularly distinctive. Try lighting a candle and putting it outside in the middle of summer. That’s not distinctive. Being ‘light’ requires us to shine in darkness. If we don’t seek darkness, it’s pretty difficult to know how light we’re shining. The whole idea of ‘blessed to be a blessing’ is that we become real change seekers. Not waiting for people notice what we’ve got, but taking light to the darkness. We should become the people that say ‘it’s not right that there are people are sleeping on our streets while we’re sleeping in beds’, ‘it’s not right that people are being trafficked in our cities’, ‘it’s not right that people die of curable diseases every day’. I long to be more radical in my living, to really seek kingdom change, but at the moment I live shining comfortably in the light.
Think of the darkest place you know. The place where there is a real absence of God, where people are just longing for change but can’t get it. Be light there. That’s distinctive. I long to live like this, but honestly most of the time I’m either crippled by doubt or fear. But this is what I think distinctive living really looks like. I want the world to look at me and see a change seeker, a justice seeker, a blessing, a light. At the moment I don’t think it’s any wonder that people don’t want what I’ve got.
The idea that people see something in me that they want can be a real catalyst to laziness, a motivation to stop seeking kingdom change, and just living comfortably among people hoping that they will notice. This is not what I want for my life.
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