Christian?

I have been doing probably too much reading about Christianity. One of the things I am reading is sort of a response to the Emergent Church movement written by two guys who are more on the Orthodox side of things. I was given the book by two close friends of mine...father figures in my child-to-christian-man journey. They wanted me to read it, because they are on the side of the argument that says the emergent church is missing some key points and their theology is flawed. So, I am reading the book.

Whether or not I agree is going to have to be at least 5 postings, so I may just save it for some other venue. the important thing is though, just by reading the points and counterpoints, I have become more aware of some key things.

Both sides agree that "works," or the "doing" of Christian things (behaving in line with what Christ would have wanted) is important. The orthodox people believe (i think) that it is the manifestation of God's love through us, and is something of a byproduct of being Christian. The emergents, frustrated by so-called "Christian" who lack the outward intentions to help their neighbors, have decided that this behavior is of a higher priority, and should be one of the major foundational points of a growing/ developing relationship with God. These points being said, when I look in the mirror or when I look at my church friends, I wonder what has been done in the name of my faith today that Jesus would have wanted?

Rob Bell says that it is not enough to be a Christian who doesn't step on the toes of those who aren't. Christians throughout time have caused so much suffering we cant resort to pacifism to make up for it (of course really, nothing we do can make up for it). We must be offensive in our plans to make our actions synonymous with Christ, and hence synonymous with Love.

Think this all sounds too hard to do anything with? Its not. Find some small thing you can consciously do everyday that serves your neighbors and shows your love for everything. I have resorted to random acts of helping people with car trouble. Last week I helped push a car out of an intersection. I have also started to be more mindful of the small creatures around me. today I stopped on an off-ramp to make sure a snake got out of the road. I also later saved a spider off of a friend.

These things are small...and may seem insignificant. But they aren't. They are training for bigger things. Each thunderstorm starts with a single drop.

Wanna help? Ask your neighborhood Christian what they have done today that would make Jesus happy?