PALS WITH THE BIG G 11: The fine print

Today's post is going to build off of the sermon given today by the Pastor of my church. It was an excellent homily about the harsh reality of being a Christian and all that entails.





I have been pretty vocal about my appreciation for the dual simplicity-difficulty of Christianity's core themes and beliefs and today's homily actually hit on a lot of ideas I think really illustrate this dual nature.

Our pastor made an anecdotal reference to "reading the fine print" of our religion and what it means in the secular world. It meant that even without the crucifixes, the baptism, without anything the wold externally classifies as Christian, internally what makes a Christian a Christian is the willingness to suffer for the ways of Jesus- to suffer in the promotion of the same love that Jesus showed humanity by His death.

A Christian must be willing to be ridiculed, looked down upon, and offer their safety and perhaps even life in service of that love. Not something that anybody would really want to do if given the choice, but actions that make you and the world better off for doing them.

It's a lifestyle of being told you're naive, idealistic, hoping for the impossible. But if you can endure, the pay off is well worth the effort.