Living Your Identity
Bruce Wayne lives his life as an eccentric billionaire playboy. He has his day job, his public persona but when the sun goes down and he dons the cowl, the true Bruce Wayne comes out. The true face is the one that criminals fear, and the one that stalks the streets of Gotham City. You can look at nearly all the superheroes and understand why they hide their super identity from the world. In The Dark Knight Rises Bruce Wayne tells Robin why he needed to wear a mask and it was to protect those people he cared about. I feel as if we as Christians have a secret identity, and that identity is Christian. I feel like we go to work and we never discuss our faith with anyone. We go to the grocery store and our faith stays at home. Even worse I feel like we go to bars, and strip clubs, and all manner of sinful things (no I’m not saying drinking at the bar is sinful), what I am saying is we check Christian at the door. How often do we hide who we are because we’re afraid of what someone might think? How often do we not stand up for what’s right as a Christian because we’re afraid of being ridiculed, or persecuted for it?
Not long ago I was in the grocery store, and I ran into someone I go to church with. We talked for a while and went our separate ways, but while I was grabbing what I went to the store for, I got a feeling in the pit of my stomach I couldn’t quite shake. I’m something of a newish good ol’ country boy. I like guns, and bows, and I listen to rock and roll, and I drink wine, and beer. I don’t drink to get drunk, but I feel and felt that if that person saw me buying beer that I would be judged. There are two things I’d like to say, one; we as Christians are some of the most judgmental people on the planet. Two, we as Christians are some of the most gossiping people on the planet. I fully understand and respect Christians that choose not to drink, however, those who condemn people for drinking have no real basis to do so. Drinking a beer or two doesn’t make me a bad Christian. Drinking a glass of wine doesn’t make me a bad Christian. Why are Christians so afraid to stand out, and the ones that do, why are they so afraid to be able to live who they are? This is a big problem many Christians face today, but it comes back to judgment.
I have felt in my life that I needed to hide my faith from others. The desire to fit in, the desire to be liked overwhelmed what I should have done and I hid who I was. Sadly I paid for that mistake as I ended up marrying someone who did not share my values, did not share my faith, and when the time came, I was left with nothing. I knew I shouldn’t have put my faith in the closet like that, but I was afraid that I wouldn’t ever find someone who cared for me like my ex-wife did, and when things got a little tough, she walked away without fighting to save the marriage. We as Christians must realize that our relationship with God is the most important thing in our lives. We must always put God first, and trust that our faithfulness will be rewarded. We should never deny Christ as Peter had. Matthew 26:70-74“70 But he denied it before them all, saying, “I do not know what you are saying.” 71 And when he had gone out to the gateway, another girl saw him and said to those who were there, “This fellow also was with Jesus of Nazareth.” 72 But again he denied with an oath, “I do not know the Man!” 73 And a little later those who stood by came up and said to Peter, “Surely you also are one of them, for your speech betrays you.” 74 Then he began to [a]curse and [b]swear, saying, “I do not know the Man!” Immediately a rooster crowed.”
Every time we turn our backs on Christ, and we keep our faith locked away because of any reason, it never matters why, we are no better then Peter. We must not be ashamed of our faith, and we must never let fear be the reason we say nothing. We are promised persecution for our faith, and if we are truly going to accept Jesus as our savior, we must accept the struggles that come with it. Now, that being said, as for the other issues, we need to remember something, we are not holy, we are not righteous in any way. We are in no position to judge anyone else. The ONLY thing we are to do is politely call someone on their sins, and offer loving aid to help them. We are not called to pass judgment on someone. We are not called to dictate what is or is not acceptable from the world standards. The only place we just be going to determine what is and what isn’t okay is scripture. Let me point something out to those Christians who think drinking is a sin. John 2:1-11“2 On the third day there was a wedding in Cana of Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there. 2 Now both Jesus and His disciples were invited to the wedding. 3 And when they ran out of wine, the mother of Jesus said to Him, “They have no wine.” 4 Jesus said to her, “Woman, what does your concern have to do with Me? My hour has not yet come.” 5 His mother said to the servants, “Whatever He says to you, do it.” 6 Now there were set there six waterpots of stone, according to the manner of purification of the Jews, containing twenty or thirty gallons apiece. 7 Jesus said to them, “Fill the waterpots with water.” And they filled them up to the brim. 8 And He said to them, “Draw some out now, and take it to the master of the feast.” And they took it. 9 When the master of the feast had tasted the water that was made wine, and did not know where it came from (but the servants who had drawn the water knew), the master of the feast called the bridegroom. 10 And he said to him, “Every man at the beginning sets out the good wine, and when the guests have well drunk, then the inferior. You have kept the good wine until now!” 11 This beginning of signs Jesus did in Cana of Galilee, and [a]manifested His glory; and His disciples believed in Him.”
So here is the Son of God at a wedding. Read verse 10 again, the master of feast called saying at the beginning of the party the good stuff is put out, but by the time everyone is drunk and happy, the cheap stuff is put out because no one cares anymore. Jesus didn’t turn the water into bad wine even, he made it into the best wide they’d had. Now, I’m not saying it’s okay to get drunk, but what I am saying is, there’s nothing wrong with having drinks in moderation. Scripture says not to be a drunkard, and what that means is we do some stupid stuff when we drink. We must stay sober minded not to do sinful things under the guise of alcohol. There is no excuse for doing stupid things while drunk. The choice to drink is yours and drunk is never an excuse. Now on the flip side, we must stop thinking we have the right to judge others. We don’t know what anyone is going through, and we have no place to pass any kind of judgment for any reason. Our place is to love, and be there for others. Our place is to share the Love and Gospel of Jesus Christ, and show the world what being a Christian is all about. No one wants to be around gossip, or judgmental self-righteous people. I have heard so often from people who have sworn off church because they always felt like they were being judged by people in the church. How much damage has been done by people of the church because of actions such as these? The numbers frighten me because I think of all the souls that are potentially lost because we as Christians have not conducted ourselves in the best light.
Someone once said to me that you had to be able to connect with your congregation and it was important that you are approachable. I come from the military and one thing veterans do is drink. Most veterans drink far to much, but it’s common place to have a beer with friends, and laugh and joke, and I find most veterans are more likely to open up at a gathering after having a beer or two. As a (hopefully) future reverend, I hope to be able to reach the veteran community. I hope to be approachable and if that means having a beer or two with veterans, to me it’s no different then having wine at a wedding. The reason I was so concerned at the store is because I know how some people are and some topics are touchy subjects for some people. I neither want to be the subject of gossip, nor the subject of someone’s judgment. Ultimately however, my actions are between God and me. I trust that if I stepped out of place I would made aware of it, and I would have to face the consequences for my actions. We should never have to hide because of fear. Growing up I hid I was a nerd in school because I was terrified I’d never be accepted. Now I have a blog post that I am literally comparing the Gospels to today’s age of the Geek. What I was once afraid of I now share proudly. I am a Christian, I am a nerd, I drink beer, and I talk to sinners. I talk to non-believers, and I converse with people of different faiths. I am decorated Army Veteran, and on occasion I might use a curse word. It should come as no surprise to anyone that I too am a sinner. I too fall short of the glory of God, and I to struggle with the world and my faith.
We are all attacked by the Devil, attacked by the world, attacked by the flesh, but we always have to fight as hard as we can. We draw our strength from our Lord and Savior, and we are covered in protection when we ask for it. Psalm 91:4“He shall cover thee with his feathers, and under his wings shalt thou trust: his truth shall be thy shield and buckler.” Let’s all cool it on the gossip, and let us all stop judging one another, and just love one another. Lift up one another in talk, not tear down. Live your identity and remember it’s Jesus’s judgment we must be concerned with, not that of man. Never be afraid to be who you are. I’ve been condemned for being a Christian and the more I study, the more I preach and teach, the less tolerant those around be become. It was fine me being a Christian as long as I didn’t talk about it. It was find being a Christian as long as it didn’t come up in conversation, but now, more and more people are proving to be less open to hearing me out, and even as far as no longer supporting me and my path. I have found it difficult as my mornings now start with yet another person pulling their support. One by one acquaintances drop away and I find that as the Devil pushes me, I must remain vigilant and affirm who I am. I am a Christian, and I am a man seeking redemption for years of mistakes and sins. I am a man driven to help others going through hell on Earth that I’ve experienced. I’m a Christian who wants to share the love and grace of Jesus Christ, not because of something I think might be true, but what I know to be true by the evidence within my own life. I’m a Christian who loves the Lord and will stand firm as I am taunted, and exiled from parts of my old world. I have faith in God the Father, and I know he renews that Faith, and through the hard times, or the peaceful times, I will not bend a knee to the world just because it wants me to. I will not acquiesce to be silent in my faith. I am a Christian, and I will live my identity. I don’t need to hide who I am, and I won’t.
The Arrow Preacher 