We've Got It Covered?

A lot of people think that openly religious Christians are strange, weird or fanatics. I have to say that it is the strangest thing and I think about it a lot. Why would that be?

A recent ABC News poll found that 83% of Americans identify themselves as Christians. But, how many of those people openly proclaim themselves as followers of Christ? If asked the direct question, "do you believe in God?", 83% of Americans say yes. Yet, if asked the question in a different way, like "do you love Christ?", you're going to get a different answer, or no answer at all.

Why does that happen? Why do so many of us not feel comfortable to proclaim our love for our God? What is the difference between saying that you are Christian and proclaiming you are Christian? I think that it is a vast difference. It's a chasm that is filled with our humanness.

When your answer to "do you love Christ?" is followed by a squirm and then, "well, I guess so", what does that mean? It means that we are allowing our pride, our protective image and our cowardice to lay in front of us like a rock that we are hiding behind, or in this case, stepping around.

Think of the apostle Paul. He was a Roman citizen and studied with a member of the Sanhedrin. Yes, the same Sanhedrin that turned Jesus over to Pilate ultimately to be crucified. Yet he directly heard Jesus' call and received His commission to "teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost" (Matthew 28:20).

What did Paul ultimately get from his commitment to God? A death because of his beliefs and acts. Is that what we are afraid of? Is it an ancient fear that we will be persecuted and will suffer these same judgements?

Well, I will tell you what I think. I think that we all need to own up to who we profess to be, in mind, body and spirit. No one will crucify us or have us beheaded like in those early days. We need to be brave in the face of our own fears and proclaim our dedication to our God.

We are at yet another moment in history where the power of God is being questioned and minimized. All because so many of us believe that we don't need faith and religion in our lives because "we've got it covered". That couldn't be less true. Every day as the economy wanes and more people succumb to the numbing effects of joblessness is evidence that we need God more than ever.

Don't think for a moment that we can do all of this alone. We are God's children. We need to hear and read the words of our Father. Those words with be our guiding light through today's darkness. This too shall pass, but only by His way.