Recently I was very fortunate to have a long discussion with a brother in Christ, while in Mexico. He asked me an interesting question.
He said, "with more than 70% of the citizens of the US practicing Christianity, why is it so hard for people to get along up there?" Our discussion lasted late into the night and continued the following morning. It brought me back to a recurring question that rolls around in my mind from time to time.
I often wonder if people of faith in the US would have the ability to recognize our savior when He returns. Would we be too wrapped up in politics, race, sexual orientation, or any other hot button topics to recognize who was in our midst?
I sometimes wonder if I have may have already passed Him on the street as I hustled to get to the grocery store.
How would I respond if I learned that He came back as the man in the elevator that I never really speak to, on the way up to my office?
What if He came back as a She? This is the creator of the entire universe and all things beyond our collective imagination, right? So why couldn't He come back as the the Mother of all creation?
What if His skin were darker than we had been taught? Would it universally change our behavior regarding race? Would I suddenly gain more confidence in who I am because their was now irrefutable proof that the Savior of the world looked like me?
What if our savior came back, and to your dismay, He sided with a political party that you did not agree with? Would your allegiance to a political ideal prevent you from seeing the gift your savior was offering?
Would your identity be too intertwined in accomplishments, influence, power, or money to change your ways?
What if He already provided a reminder of how we should live as believers? Philippians 2:3 tells us, "Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves." But is that how we live today?
What if He came back as a twelve year old boy who patiently listened to the wisest of our left and right bicker over laws that did not matter and asked us, "After more than 1,000 pages of instruction and 2,000 years to practice, how are you still missing the point?"
As followers of Christ, I think we already have the playbook...but far too many choose to ignore His recorded words.
We already know that the Bible has commanded us to serve our brothers and sisters before ourselves, in more than 40 verses.
We already know the truth.
The question is, when do we take the larger step in faith?
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