“Non-Christians aren’t
reading the four gospels; they read the fifth gospel in you and me. What are
they seeing?”
— Colin Meadows
We Christians are a funny
bunch. We follow a perfect Lord, yet are completely and utterly imperfect
ourselves. We espouse to live to biblical principles, but get it wrong probably
more than half the time. To be a Christian is to voluntarily put our hands up
in taking on the role of hypocrisy. We are bigots who apparently hate gay
people. And so much more... not that we believe
these things about us, but it’s the version of the ‘fifth gospel’ non-Christian/non-religious
people are reading into us; or do they just generalise and stereotype?
We, as Christians, are an
oft-maligned group in society. Yet, we are also heralded in special ways for
the things we do that come from our hearts; resonant from the heart of God—where
love truly abounds.
Being a fifth gospel—as people
read the story of our lives—a line, a paragraph, a page at a time—we have
enormous influence for Christ within one solitary life: ours.
If we’re adopting the
Bible as our precept for living, we’re probably dealing with our stuff in
truth, being a loving family person, a loyal work colleague, and a responsible
citizen.
But what are the practical
differences a fifth gospel exemplifies?
Personifying the Fifth Gospel
What is God’s general will
for our lives, as others look on? What is our witness of Christ?
1.
We obey the law—not just the law of love, but we
respect and uphold all laws: criminal code; taxation; human rights, etc. This
is harder than it seems. It means doing the right thing even (especially even)
when no one’s looking (but God is always looking).
2.
We focus on the marginalised—Jesus was all about protecting those
who couldn’t protect themselves. How are we loving those who may be ‘unattractive’
to the world? Or, are we favouring the popular people; loving them and spending
time with them instead?
3.
We worship and devote ourselves to ONE
God—in our
fast-pace mod-con world there are so many temptations to run after things
(idols) other than God. Everything we do should spring from a focus on God.
4.
We are inclusive in our fellowship—we do not exclude anyone and we are a
friend to everyone. As Christians we can actually love everyone; Jesus
commanded we do so, so it must be achievable.
5.
We are willing to serve—we find joy in serving people,
because we are an encouragement to them, and encouragement is one tangible way
to love someone.
6.
We are slow to anger and quick to
forgive—perhaps the
biggest test of the fifth-gospel Christian is their approach to relationships,
hurts and forgiveness. Only by the grace of God can we truly forgive, so we tap
into this grace by truly being a follower of Jesus.
7.
We find ways to share our faith—we do so primarily by who
we are, not
what we say.
***
As Christians, we are the
fifth gospel of Jesus Christ. What ‘Jesus’ are we showing to the world? Are we
law-abiding, lovers of the marginalised, worshippers of one God, inclusive in
our loving of everyone, willing to serve so as to encourage, slow to anger and
quick to forgive, and willing to share our faith?
© 2013 S. J. Wickham.
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