Phillip Yancey reflects on what he discovered about Jesus in his book The Jesus I Never Knew:
“The more unsavory the characters, the more at ease they seemed to feel around Jesus. People like these found Jesus appealing: a Samaritan social outcast, a military officer of the tyrant Herod, a quisling tax collector, a recent hostess to seven demons. In contrast, Jesus got a chilly response from more respectable types. Pious Pharisees thought him uncouth and worldly, a rich young ruler walked away shaking his head, and even the open-minded Nicodemus sought a meeting under the cover of darkness. I remarked to the class how strange this pattern seemed, since the Christian church now attracts respectable types who closely resemble the people most suspicious of Jesus on earth. What has happened to reverse the pattern of Jesus’ day? Why don’t sinners like being around us?”
Archives
- December 2008
- August 2007
- March 2007
- February 2007
- January 2007
- December 2006
- November 2006
- October 2006
- August 2006
- July 2006
- June 2006
- May 2006
- April 2006
- March 2006
- February 2006
- January 2006
- December 2005
- November 2005
- October 2005
- September 2005
- August 2005
- July 2005
- June 2005
- May 2005
- April 2005
- March 2005
- February 2005
- January 2005
- December 2004
- November 2004
- October 2004
- August 2004
2 Responses
Stay in touch with the conversation, subscribe to the RSS feed for comments on this post.
The real question is why don’t “christians” like to be around sinners? Why does it seem like when you become a christian or go to church you join a special club and you only hang around other people that belong to the “club”. We as christians don’t readily make ourselves available to others outside our “club”. It’s great for the beginning of your walk with Christ to surround yourself with people that will assist you along your walk, but there comes a time when christians need to step out of their own comfort zones and be among the “more unsavory characters.”
Posted by Recia
O2 Genion Duo