If you’re a believer and follower of Jesus Christ, what is the one earmark that truly demonstrates to the world that you are a follower of Jesus?
That’s the very issue that Francis A. Schaeffer confronts in this VERY short book, “The Mark of the Christian.” My suggestion is to not chuck this book to the backburner just because it looks tiny and short. I will guarantee you, this is no easy read and it’s not something that ought to be chunked aside if you’re serious about sharing the message of hope and life to those around you.
How did it all start?
I found this book 2 years ago when I was at an Intervarsity weeklong conference/retreat type deal. It was a time for the (student) leaders of college fellowships to have time off before school started and it was a time to prepare on what will need to be done for our respective fellowships. Well, as in most IV events, there were book sales, and so I strolled along the two tables that had some of the books IV press was selling.
Little did I know I would come across a very powerful little book, namely the Mark of a Christian. To be honest, I was pretty stupid when I bought this book. I read the summary on the back and thought “Hmm.. this sounds interesting…” Little did I know that this book would be a very difficult and convicting thing to read. I guess the idiom; never judge a book by its cover was pretty on the mark for this one.
Why did it feel like a ton of bricks?
When I read this book two years ago and just recently reread it again, it felt like someone took a truck and slammed it into me. Well, at least it hit my heart pretty deeply. You may ask “Why LifeStar? Why? This book doesn’t look that deep and it’s so short, it can’t be that amazing. WRONG! Let’s go over some of Mr. Schaeffer’s key points:
What does the world see?
What Mr. Schaeffer proposes that the true mark of a Christian is how well does he LOVE his neighbors and his fellow brothers and sisters in Christ. He makes no ands, ifs, or buts about this. To put it simply, if I, as a follower of Jesus Christ, do not exercise the same kind of love that He showed to people and to the disciples, then the world has every right to judge us as not being Christian or hypocrites.
Yes you read me correctly, he said that the world has to right to judge Christians based on our love for each other and for our neighbors. I don’t want to go too in-depth about this as it’s discussed in his book, but he brings up these key points for his very uncomfortable statement.
1. He’s not saying that the person isn’t really a Christian if the world says he’s not. For the Christian, it is all about who has he trusted for his salvation. When a Christian judges (or discerns is a better world) if another person is a Christian, it is solely (or should be) upon the person’s profession of faith. Whether the person has the right doctrine, believes in it, and has declared that he has placed his faith in Jesus Christ. That’s what REALLY matter in terms of being saved. One can’t have good deeds and no faith in the Savoir to be a Christian, that’s a contradiction.
2. He is saying, however, that the world, those who do not know Jesus Christ, do not care about doctrine. It doesn’t matter to most people whether your version of Jesus is biblical in the world today. So how can they judge us and say we’re Christian or not? Simple, do they see us living out the same kind of love that Jesus lived out during His time on earth? Living out such an unconditional love for other siblings in Christ’s family and love for those who aren’t demonstrates absolutely that we have His Spirit in us.
3. In summary, the love a Christian shows to another Christian must be so so obvious that the world can say nothing except “Now that person I think is a Christian... wow…”
We’re only human…
I’m sure some of you who have read this or who have heard about this kind of talk may be saying, “Sure, I know that’s true, but I’m only human, and God doesn’t expect me to be perfect.”
True, but that’s why He gave us Holy Spirit. That’s why the third person of the Trinity is living inside you and me fellow sibling. He knows that by our own might and power, we can never love just as Jesus loved. That is why Jesus came to this world and die for us so that we can have a new life in Him. Besides, Jesus DID command all his followers to follow Him, and that includes learning (maybe painfully) how to love like He did. If there’s one thing I have learned being a follower and lover of my Lord is that He will never ask you to do something that He has not done Himself and that He has not prepared the way for.
In the end, it all comes down to will you take the challenge and depend on His Spirit to live that kind of love? We read about it, we listen and sing about it, but do we really want to live it?
All I can say about it is after putting it into practice more and more, it has done a # on how I view people in general, and how I view my fellow Christians. You can’t have a holier than thou view, and you will have a heart for the lost when you live this out. I’m not totally there yet, but I’m a walking on, and I do hope that this review will prompt you to think about walking down this path as well. Blessings.
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