When they find out...

    When they find out that I am a Christian, I don't want it to take them by surprise.  Instead, I am hoping that when I finally have an opportunity to share my faith, or when someone tells them that "Nina is a Christian," that their  response will be something along the lines of "that makes perfect sense" or "I should have known" or even, "that  does not surprise me at all."  Unfortunately, that is not always the case for Christians.  In fact, and I'm ashamed to admit it, sometimes the response is the absolute opposite.  Sometimes the response is an emphatic, "there is NO WAY he or she could be a Christian."  Doesn't the thought of that just choke you up or cause a big knot to develop in the back of your throat like the ones you felt when you were a little kid fighting back the big cry?  That’s because it hurts and you feel helpless in this situation.  
     Have you ever had that experience?  The one where you worked on the same job or attended the same school with someone, you know them from a distance, but you do not know them personally.  You see them day in and day out.  You see how they respond to people on a daily basis.  You notice that they can often be rude and maybe even a little snarky for no apparent reason. You witness their vulgar sense of humor and inappropriate comments. Even further, you shudder at the bite of their bitter sarcasm as it pricks innocent co-workers and customers.  In your heart, because you feel they could use some TLC or as Erica Campbell puts it "a little mo' Jesus," you pray for them - that one day they would find Jesus.  
     Then, to your surprise, you find out that they profess Christ.   You resist the urge to be “Christian Judgey,” but  you are floored by the idea that your acquaintance, colleague, or coworker is a Christian.  With everything within you, you fight the urge not to judge, but you are baffled, confused, perplexed, and bewildered.  
      This blog is not a commentary on how Christian’s should or should not behave.  Instead, it is more of a call to reflect upon how we demonstrate to the world what it is like to be a Christians.  Here’s the thing, we don’t always have an opportunity to  do one-on-one, face-to-face evangelism as we share our faith.  Many times, our lives are the books or the words that the world reads.  I think the greater message here is not that you are a Christian and you see another Christian act “out of character,” but instead it is about the message that Christians send to “non-believers” when we act out of Character?  
     This is also not a call for us to create some “cookie cutter” standard for which all of us ought to adhere to; that has already been established.  Christ is the standard. However, there are certain evidences, or as the Bible says, fruit we produce that let the world know we belong to Jesus.  
      I hope that my fruit reveal what type of tree I am and when they find out that I am a Christian, I don't want them to be  surprised. 

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