Love Like Jesus Does

Mahatma Gandhi said " I like your Christ.  I do not like your Christians.  Your Christians are so unlike your Christ."  The fictional character Scout Finch in Harper Lee's recently released book Go Set a Watchman asks "Why doesn't their flesh creep?  How can they devoutly believe everything they hear in church and then say the things they do and listen to the things they hear without throwing up?"

I asked my teenage Sunday School class "What is a Christian?" and "What does a Christian Do?"  Clearly there is a perceived disconnect in the world between Jesus Christ and how Christians (Christ Followers) live out their lives.  Almost everyone worldwide appreciates Jesus' ministry and teachings, even if they are not followers of those teachings or of Him. But Billions have decided that while Jesus Christ is good, His followers have turned them off. How can I help close the gap between what I do and what I say I believe?  How can I be a better testimony/light in a dark world to the non-believers I come into contact with each day?  How much has my life fed into this disconnect?  Hopefully not much, but unfortunately I am a sinner, saved by Grace, who makes many mistakes.  My sins (and yours) cost all Christians credibility with the non-believing world. I love Christians and believe that Jesus Christ and His followers are the only hope for this world.  I just want us who call ourselves followers of Jesus to do a better job of living like He did/would.

Here is what I found when I dug into my Bible in search of answers to "What does a Christian Do?"  Isaiah 58 tells us "Is this not the fast which I choose, to loosen the bonds of wickedness, to undo the bands of the yoke, and to let the oppressed go free and break every yoke?  Is it not to divide your bread with the hungry and bring the homeless poor into the house; when you see the naked, to cover him (v. 6 and 7, NASB).  I John 3:17 and 18 tells us "whoever has the world's goods, and sees his brother in need and closes his heart against him, how does the love of God abide in him?  Little children, let us not love with word or tongue, but in deed and truth."  I continued to find verses in a similar thought-pattern.  Ezekial 18:5-9 (excerpts) "If a man is righteous and practices justice and righteousness  (emphasis added)... does not oppress anyone, but restores to the debtor his pledge, does not commit robbery, but gives his bread to the hungry and covers the naked with clothing... he walks in My statutes and My ordinances so as to deal faithfully - he is righteous and will surely live, declares the Lord God."

Practices Justice and Righteousness and Deals Faithfully.  If Christians would focus on these few words of recommendation from the Lord, I believe we could close some of the gap between how Jesus lived and how we live and act.  Righteousness means doing the right thing, in a desire to follow after God's commands for our lives.  To practice Justice and Deal Faithfully entails some works. From these verses I see that Christians should be feeding the poor, sitting w/ the lonely, healing the sick, clothing the naked and hanging out with people who are less fortunate than us.  Our love, with is derived from Christ's love should be overflowing to the point of flooding the lost, dark and dying world we live in. I suggest that if a few million Christians would start acting in this manner (how Christ lived when he was here on earth) we could literally change the world in a matter of months.