The following post was taken from my friend Diana Johnson's blog. The title, No Chameleons Please is mine. Check out her Cedar Chest.
"The signs of the kingdom [of Jesus Christ] have always been
the LION
the LAMB
the DOVE
the FISH
but NEVER the CHAMELEON!"
(Quote: Michael Frost, Nov. 1st, 2005 Peterborough, ON.)
Jesus modelled what it was like to be different, holy, set apart ~ yet at the same time fully engaged with those around Him in need of His grace, mercy, kindness, and love.
He put His needs behind the needs of others ~ to the point of sacrificing His very life for our greatest need...to be the only acceptable sacrifice which could reconcile us back into a right relationship with Yahweh ~ holy God.
What's my focus? Money? Material possesions? A safe future? A secure retirement? Credability in the eyes of the post-modern society around me?
Eyes are on me when I commit to live out dangerous promises like "I will be kind", "I will be good", "I will love others as Christ loves", "I will show mercy, grace, kindness, and hospitality". "I will cooperate with other christian believers in unity and love".
And when I do...others will find hope at it's source ~ the living Christ dwelling in me in the midst of a pagan world! Not hope in institutional Christianity, but rather, in The One who gives eternal hope.
Will I blend in, or stand out as an exile with a message of hope beyond this world? Will I challenge others with the dangerous stories of Jesus, who cast out demons, hung out with prostitutes, performed miracles, and died and suffered to set us free, or will I remain unengaged, choosing conformity in order to feel safe and comfortable?
Am I a Christian, or am I a chameleon?
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