Monday, October 06, 2008

The Madness of Christendom

"What an outrage, to represent [the life of Jesus] as tantamount to the Universe! To seize one accidental good man that happened to exist somewhere, at some time, and say to the soul: 'Behold thy pattern… go into the harness of that past individual, assume his manners, speak his speech,'—this is the madness of Christendom. I turn my back on these insane usurpers… We have nothing to do with Jesus in our progress, nothing to do with any past soul.”
(Ralph Waldo Emerson, Journals)

Heartbreaking, isn't it? And yet, as I read Emerson’s bitter indictment against Christians, another thought struck me: for such an impassioned response, the poet must have been surrounded by devoted Christians. He must have witnessed unrestrained praise of Christ up close, because he was officially disgusted with what he saw.

It made me pause. Can others see the reflection of Christ so vividly in our own lives? If He is clearly recognizable in us, we can rest assured of two extreme responses-- irresistible curiosity or anger.

"Be imitators of God, therefore, as dearly loved children, and live a life of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God." (Ephesians 5:1-4)

"Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples." (John 13:34-5)

Only two chapters later, after reiterating the command "love," Christ warned the disciples that the world would despise them, just as the world despised and rejected Him first:

"You do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you. If they persecuted Me, they will persecute you also." (John 15:9-20)

That is logical enough. Christ is Light, men love darkness because the Light exposes their evil deeds, and the Light dwells in us through faith. If every unbeliever we know can accept us without reservation, the Scriptures say we have excellent reason to suspect that we are not mimicking Christ, "speaking His speech," and making His glory known.

As Christ's representatives on earth, people should be responding to us the same way that they responded to Him. If we are truly walking in the Light, they will either be drawn to Him in us, or vehemently repelled by Him in us. "Madness" might be a compliment after all.