There are not too many people who haven't seen at least one episode of NBCs hit show, Saturday Night Live. For most of us we will never forget the guest host shouting out, "Live from New York, it's Saturday Night!" The show has birthed and resurrected the comedy careers of many individuals throughout its long run. And along with all those comedians comes the many characters they created that we still love and enjoy. One of my favorite characters was "Fernando" played by Billy Crystal. "Fernando" was an over the top, Latino character who was famous for having two catch phrases, "You look marvelous!" and my favorite, "It is better to look good than to feel good." That last phrase got me to thinking about human nature, in general, but more specifically about how Christians judge each other. We all desire to put our best face forward and mask any issues we may have in life from outsiders. This even extends all the way to the grave where we do our best to dress up the corpse as if a suit and tie or a pretty dress changes the fact a person has died. This brings me to a comment I found regarding why an individual believed his uncle might be in Heaven.
Personally, we watched my uncle (who had been a lifelong agnostic) die of emphysema. He was deathly afraid of falling asleep in his final days for fear he would not wake up. At some point during his final struggle, his heart was changed, and that changed his approach to death. He slept, he rested, and died in peace. The difference pre- and post- decision was remarkable. I don't know what to make of that, but based on what was seen during his passing I'd be the last one to doubt the reality and efficacy of his change of heart. I can't say that I have confidence he's in heaven, but neither can I say that I know he's not. All I can say is that it made a visible difference and that God will be the only one who knows for certain.
Nobody can say for sure whether or not another person has truly accepted Christ and their name is written in the Book of Life. Only the individual can say for certain whether or not they are saved. But, what got my attention in the above testimony is the use of terms like "based on what was seen" and "visible difference" to describe what this person thought was evidence their uncle was saved. I am not here to say he wasn't, but to point out the fact that physical evidence isn't necessarily the key to determining if a person is in Christ or not.
"Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails." 1 Corinthians 13: 4-8
Jesus said that all men would know who His disciples are if we love one another. And if you look at the description of love, in 1 Corinthians 13, you will notice that many of the attributes of love are, for the most part, not visible. What do patience, not envying, not boasting, not being proud, not being rude, not being self-seeking, not being easily angered and not keeping records of wrongs look like? Are not they, generally speaking, hidden from public view? And, if they do manifest themselves, they are more than likely going to be evidence to an unbeliever moreso than a fellow Christian. You see Christians, in large part, judge the salvation of each other based on things like church attendance and obedience to an agreed upon set of standards. Thus, if these things do not appear to be evident in a believer's life, their salvation is questioned. That is why nobody would dare question the salvation of a Billy Graham because he has preached the Gospel for decades. But, take the Christian who only shows up to church sparingly and their faith is constantly questioned. In both cases we have no idea whether Billy Graham or the person I described is saved or not. In fact, was in not the Apostle Paul who said that he would not have known what coveting was if was not for the Law? Coveting is a hidden sin that nobody but the individual commiting it is aware they are doing. Yet, Paul called his legalistic righteousness faultless. Paul's behavior, prior to his conversion, was unquestioned by his peers. But, he didn't know the Lord at all.
"Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God. For just as the sufferings of Christ flow over into our lives, so also through Christ our comfort overflows." 2 Corinthians 1: 3-5
You know what is the evidence that we are God's disciples? It is what those we interact with on a daily basis don't see us doing! When they are making us impatient, we respond with patience. When they are blessed we do not envy their blessing. When we are blessed we don't boast about it or take pride in it. When they are rude to us we don't return it. We look out for their best interests rather than being self-seeking. When they have wronged us we don't store it away to use it against them at a later date. And so on. All of this comes from us recognizing that God, in His love, has treated us the same way. Therefore, we share with others from the abundance we have received from Him. And it is in this way that others are comforted. The people in our lives are not impressed by us going to church and reading our Bibles. After all that is what Christians do. And the lost could care less. But, when people, both lost and saved, witness how we don't act out in inpatience, rudeness, anger and selfishness they are curious as to what makes us different. And that is when we share the Gospel of Jesus Christ with them.
"But the LORD said to Samuel, "Do not look at his appearance or at the height of his stature, because I have rejected him; for God sees not as man sees, for man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart." 1 Samuel 16:7
Just like the person who believed they saw evidence of their uncle's salvation, I experienced the same thing when my mother passed away from cancer. I was never certain of my mother's salvation. However, the grace in which she faced death and her behavior at the moment she died, gave me hope that I would see her again someday in Heaven. But, that is in no way proof of anything. I am sure that their are those out there who don't know Jesus Christ as their Savior, but who could tell stories about the actions of others, prior to death, that gave them a sense of hope and peace. All that is proved is that our actions alone do not a Christian make! We cannot look into the heart of another person and definitively conclude if they have accepted Christ. Nor, can we make absolute judgements on their salvation by their actions. Yet, we might be able to get insight into their faith based on "what we haven't seen" and an "invisible difference" in their behavior. So while a person may look good on the outside to us, it may not be a reflection of what we don't see taking place inside.
No comments:
Post a Comment