Mahatma Gandhi is one of the most respected leaders of modern history. A Hindu, Ghandi nevertheless admired Jesus and often quoted from the Sermon on the Mount. Once when the missionary E. Stanley Jones met with Ghandi he asked him, "Mr. Ghandi, though you quote the words of Christ often, why is that you appear to so adamantly reject becoming his follower?"
Ghandi replied, "Oh, I don't reject your Christ. I love your Christ. It's just that so many of you Christians are so unlike your Christ."
Although this conversation occured more than 70 years ago, I can't cease to wonder if my family, friends or anyone who knows me had the same perception as Gandhi had on Christians. Honestly, the more I grow up the more I find myself to be unlike Christ, the Christ whom I've claimed to believe, follow, worship, pray to, preach about etc etc. Someone told me that the term 'Christian' in Hebrew actually means 'Little Christ'. Hence, I have definitely taken this identity for granted, not once but many times.
I find myself living in two different lives, sounds quite like a 'split personality' in psychiatry or Jim Carey's 'Me, Myself and Irene'...but no, allow me to explain. Let's start with my life no.1, which revolves around the general expectations for being a follower of Jesus Christ. I attend church service, prayer meeting, cell group, sing worship songs, serving in ministry, carrying a big bible with a cool black cover, speaking in 'church language' that appears to serve my Christian identity rather than as true expression from my heart, and clothing myself with 'good and pleasing behaviors' instead of cultivating a real Christ-like character. Well, this life does offer me comfort, security, acknowledgement and acceptance. But when I was put into situations with no such or lesser expectations, like outside the church context, at home, with friends, especially in the absence of other Christians, alone etc etc......there comes life no. 2. In this life I would rely more on my instincts and feelings. My self-centeredness becomes more apparent. I would indulge myself in things which gives temporary self-satisfaction but subsequent emptiness and self-pity. No wonder the word 'hypocrite' has never been left out from describing us Christians.
The constant transition between these two lives often leads me to frustration and fatigue, which we are more likely to call it 'burning out' or 'spiritual attack...because it sounds more...well...'spiritual' I guess. But Jesus never meant to lead me into this situation. He Himself has lived up to His identity THROUGHOUT his life on earth. And the fact that he did that as a Man like us, shows me that I can and should lived up to my identity...as a child of God and a follower of Jesus Christ in an AUTHENTIC and CONSISTENT manner. No matter how diverse our personalities may be, there is only ONE life that we should be living in, a life where we can find peace, hope and love, a life of Jesus Christ. Here, an intimate, honest and transparent RELATIONSHIP with Christ is the only key.
Gandhi also quoted, 'if only Christians would live like how their Christ had lived, today the whole India would become Christians.' Maybe there's truth in it. Perhaps India, with the second largest population in world , is a bit beyond our imagination, nevertheless we certainly could grasp the possible impact on our family, friends, schools, campus, workplace, neighbors etc etc. But then again...IF ONLY...:)
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