Give us a clue

Those who are familiar with quiz shows and magazines will know of the sort of quiz that gives clues and you have to guess the connection.  Small children are often engaged in such activities in order to teach them about different animals and what they're like, for example: 

Who am I? 
1) I live in Africa.                                            
2) I eat the leaves of tall trees. 
3) I am a sort of orange-y brown colour with dark brown patches.         
4) I have a very long neck. 

Of course the answer is the giraffe.  More points are awarded for the fewer number of clues required to guess correctly.

If a clue is 'they like to eat pizza and pasta' then it's a safe guess to say the Italians.  Likewise if the clue says 'They have been known to eat frogs' legs' then the answer would be the French  I began thinking about this in relation to people groups and their way of life and thinking.  Below is a set of clues that the average person in the street think and relate to:


1) They sometimes seem a bit standoffish.
2) They think they are better than everybody else.
3) They can be quite judgmental of others.
4) They don't like or accept gay or lesbian people, telling them they are wrong.
5) They are restricted in the things they are allowed to partake in so don't join in much.
6) They believe their sacred book and their leaders must not be questioned - they are infallible.
7) They join with others in a special building on a Sunday.

The answer to the clues is 'Christians'.  Christians reading those clues would be adamant that it certainly doesn't describe them.  They are nothing like that.  The sad truth is that most people who are not members of a particular denomination or organised religious group do have that impression of what Christians are like.  Over centuries they have been given a very negative portrayal of Christianity.  And sadly nothing like what we read in the Bible about how or what Jesus was, thought and did.  Christians are more often than not thought to be intolerant, homophobic people who consider themselves to be 'holier than thou', better than the rest and separate themselves from those who are not part of their exclusive Sunday club.  You can join their club only if you change who you are and become a clone.  This sadly is what others see.  


In contrast if we take each of those clues and refer them to how Jesus lived we would get something along the lines of the following:
1) He will talk to anybody.
2) He identifies himself with the poor and needy.
3) He accepts people's shortfalls and cares about them anyway.
4) He loves everyone and accepts anyone who wants to be his friend.
5) He goes wherever he is invited or people need his help or advice.
6) He has often quoted from his sacred book and law and tells people to think about it in a  different way.  He insists that the only true lord and master is God.  All others are fallible  humans.
7) He has been criticised for spending time walking in the fields with his friends and breaking religious rules on his special day of rest.

So it begs the question - how do we put that right?  Maybe we should go through each of the clues in turn,comparing the first and second set of clues and being honest as to which really describes us.  People are crying out 'We would see Jesus'.  As Jesus followers we need to set the record straight and show Him to others by the way we live.  People are not interested in going to a building - God is everywhere.  They don't want to listen to someone preaching at them, telling them how wrong and sinful they are.  They don't want to hear about Him, they want to see Him living in us.  So forget all the theological arguments, dogma and splitting hairs.  We need to have the mind of Christ and really put Jesus at the centre showing God's all-embracing love at work through our actions and attitudes in our daily living.