Skeleton In The Closet?

‘There is a need for us in the fullness, joy and enthusiasm which comes from the Holy Spirit to take on the task which is more urgent than any other; that of making the unfathomable riches of Christ known to our brothers and sisters’

– Pope John Paul II

A new semester has begun at uni and once again I am meeting new people and making new friends.

I feel as though every time you introduce yourself to someone new, you question yourself once again about who you really are.

If you tried to sum yourself up in a nutshell, what would you say? If you had to tell the class one thing that everyone should know about you, how would you answer?

I am the girl who puts her heart out there and in all honestly proclaims, ‘One thing I think everyone should know about me is that I love Jesus’.

In honouring him, I feel such joy and peace. I have professed his presence and his irreplaceable role in my life. It is the one thing that makes me significantly different from everyone else in the room. If there was one thing everyone ought to know, that is it. They asked after all. I just took the opportunity.

Yesterday I made some new friends, who were Christians. I only knew because I had said that I loved Jesus and the connection was made. What if I had not had the courage to speak up? We would have not connected in such an instant way as we did.

Much like me, if not more so, these friends are on fire for Jesus and for sharing his love with others. Unlike myself, they like to keep it quiet. They prefer to befriend people and once they get to know them, tell them later. They seemed shocked when I spoke so openly about being a Christian and asked me why I do so. They believe that if you keep it quiet, you can befriend people who would steer clear of you otherwise.

I can see how that would be true for them, and I considered whether or not I had done the right thing, being so open with my faith. As I walked back across campus to the free parking lot, I fretted no more. I had done what I felt was right. Everyone is different and everyone has different evangelistic styles. Their style may be that of a humble undercover Christian, but mine is not. I am proud of my saviour Jesus. Above all, I believe honesty is key. I don’t always say it awkwardly. I might mention church or something just to give a hint. I want people to know up front who I am and what they are getting themselves into. This way, they know from the start who I am and they have not been tricked into befriending someone who I am not.

It only takes a peek at my Facebook page to see where I stand anyway! They will find out sooner or later.

My bravery has helped other Christians in my classes to come out of hiding. They have asked me about Bible study groups and church. Together we defend the Bible when it is slammed in class.

As Christians, there really ought to be something different about us. There should be a salty flavour to our life and a certain grace when we speak. Everyone has secrets. Everyone has a core part of them that they hide. I think it is refreshing that God could use me as a breath of fresh air. Here is someone who is open and honest. A non- Christian friend of mine said recently, “I knew from the start that you were a good person. When I saw you I knew that what you see if what you get.”

Do we strive to be the honest person, where that which people see is what they get? Or do we try to pretend we are something we are not?

I am not afraid of using Jesus name. I am not afraid that proclaiming his love will leave me friendless. I have so many friends who live life very differently and know exactly what I stand for, and yet they do not repel. I believe there is something genuinely intriguing about an honest person. People know they can trust you.  They know where they stand with you.

So if you are a Christian, don’t be afraid to show it. Be yourself. In my experience, being honest puts you in the right place to make friends, rather than sending them running.

Jesus isn’t a skeleton that should be hidden in the closet of your heart. The name of Jesus is a joyful song that must be sung, a light that must be shone, a love that can’t be hidden.

Jesus is why we are who we are. People should know that.

“You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.”

– Matthew 5:14-16

“It’s discouraging to think how many people are shocked by honesty and how few by deceit.”

– Noel Coward

“Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit.”

– Galatians 5:25

Stand Up For What You Believe!

It was late one afternoon at uni and I’d began to drift off while the tutor explained the meaning of ‘literal’. My ears perked up when I heard, “Now I’m just checking… is anyone in here a fundamental Islamist, or a fundamental Jew or a fundamental Christian?”

Man! Why had I dozed off? This could have been my chance but I had lost track of the context of the question. I hesitated. A mature aged student said quietly, “I’m a Christian.” Good on her!

“Oh so you’re a Christian,” the tutor stood over her with one hand on her hip. She put on her concentration face and asked, “But are you a fundamental Christian?” There was a pause.

“What do you mean?” the lady asked.

The tutor flicked her short hair back from her eyes. “When I say that, I mean, do you take the words in the Bible literally. Do you think it means exactly what it says?”

The lady hesitated. There was a catch. Clearly, this intelligent woman was trying to catch her out. “There are metaphors,” she said quietly.

“Yes. That’s what I mean. You don’t believe the Bible means exactly what it says? You don’t take it literally do you?” The tutor was putting on the pressure.

There was no response.

I was sitting up in the back corner, reclining in my seat observing the situation keenly. As the silence ravaged through the room I shrugged my shoulders. “I do.” I said simply. The whole class turned toward me. “I think that the Bible says exactly what it means”.

“Do you Nicola? You believe that the Bible word for word? You take a literal view on the Bible? You would consider yourself a fundamentalist?” Her eyes were piercing mine as she tossed her head back provokingly with each question.

“Yes.” I said confidently. “I do”.

“So you don’t believe the Bible has metaphors?”

“Yes it does,” I began, “Even Jesus speaks in parables.”

He eyes widened at the name of Jesus and my reference to the term ‘parables’. Clearly I knew more about the Bible than identifying a few figures of speech.

“So then don’t you think these need to be interpreted?” She asked.

“Yes these parables have hidden meanings but we don’t need to interpret them because Jesus explained right after he told them, exactly what they were about”.

I clearly was not backing down or succumbing to the pressure and she could see that I wasn’t intimidated. With that, she turned and played the following clip from West Wing.

(If you are reading this in an email, you may have to go to my blog page or copy the link in order to watch the video above).

Now this was an interesting video clip but in reality it is so flawed. All of the verses he referred to are talking about Old Testament Law, which we know is no longer necessary because of Christ’s sacrifice.  Jesus said, “I have not come to abolish the Law or the Prophets but to fulfil them” (Matthew 5:17).

In Romans 10:4 we read, “Christ is the end of the law so that there may be righteousness for everyone who believes”.

I agreed with her that there is more meaning than initially on surface level. I said that when you study the Bible, you look at the original Hebrew or Greek word and see where it has been used in other contexts in the Bible in order to have a deeper understanding of what is being said. I gave the example of how there are multiple words for our single word, ‘love’.

She agreed and then took it on a massive tangent. “You have chosen a very nice word though, how about something like ‘homosexual’…” She paused for the class’ reaction. “Does anyone know the original Hebrew for the word ‘homosexual’?”

There was a long pause and I shook my head. I was kicking myself. Here, she knew she had the upper hand and that there was no one in the room who could correct her opinions disguised as fact. She began to say that the original word for ‘homosexual’ was more closely linked to the word ‘paedophile’ and that all this time, the church has been chasing the wrong group of people. She told this massive story about Paul sailing past the Isle of Capri where apparently children jumped off cliffs to avoid paedophiles. All this time, there had been a wrong translation. That was her argument.

At first I was stumped. I didn’t know how to respond because I wasn’t prepared but really, all it took was an arrow prayer and a bit of common sense logic to rebut her argument.

If this was the case, and the Bible has been translated or interpreted wrong, why was she the only one that knew about it? For endless years, scholars have studied the original transcripts. This would have been found out. This would have been corrected.

And yet, each time I raised my hand she overlooked me and continued telling the class about what she believed.

The way I see it. Fine believe homosexuality is okay. Whatever. Just don’t try to pretend that the Bible says it’s okay. Don’t try to say that the Bible supports your cause, because it doesn’t! Don’t try to put down the Bible.

Now hear me out, I don’t hate homosexuals. Being in the theatre, I have plenty of gay friends, who are wonderful people. If they are not Christians and do not live by the Bible, I don’t expect them to uphold what the Bible teaches, but I won’t let people taint the reliability of God’s word to suit their own interests.

Either way, the Bible and homosexuality are touchy subjects for some people. I’m not sure how appropriate it was to spend 40 minutes talking about it in a tutorial.

On the bright side, it gave me an opportunity to stand up for what I believe and let people see I am serious about being a Christian.

And now have the next four years ahead of me. I’ll admit my respect for her decreased, but I will strive to continue to show her respect and God’s love toward her. If I can’t win her over with words, I will do it with love by my actions.

“Dear children, let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth” -1 John 3:18.

If the opportunity ever comes up for you, take it! Don’t let it pass you by. Stand up for Jesus. Even if you don’t know the words to say. Shoot up a quick prayer and speak His name. God promises he will never leave our side (Deuteronomy 31:6).