Recently I had the opportunity to sit in a gathering of Christian leaders where the focus was the future of the Christian church in North America. One of my colleagues shared a story that continues to provoke me to reflect upon my own life and witness in this world. My friend shared a story of being called by a young adult during a time of personal crisis. The individual was a friend of one of his children and was in the midst of an incredibly difficult situation. This young adult remarked to my friend that he and his wife were the only “safe Christians” that she knew. He was both honored and yet also saddened that his young friend didn’t feel she had anyone else to turn to who was a follower of Jesus.
What’s a safe Christian? I don’t think there’s a textbook answer or definition, but I know I have met both safe and unsafe Christians in my own journey (for that matter, I’ve been an unsafe Christian far too often, maybe even this past week as I reflect on some of my interactions with folks). The safe Christians in my life have loved me through the darkest nights of my soul. They’ve seen the ugliest parts of me and yet continued to love me. They may have been disappointed with me, disagreed with me or even been offended or hurt by my behavior, but they never stopped loving me and showing Christ’s love to me. They demonstrated a commitment to love me in spite of myself in a way that proved they could be trusted and that they were safe. In one sense, the safe people in my life continued to be my friends even when I didn’t deserve it.
In Matthew 11:18-19, Jesus relates the following, “For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, ‘He has a demon.’ The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, ‘Here is a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners.’ But wisdom is proved right by her deeds.” Jesus was known as a friend of sinners. That wasn’t a compliment. The religious leaders were proposing that his friendship with the wrong folks was proof that he couldn’t be of God, much less the long-awaited Messiah. Jesus was a friend of sinners. Jesus was safe. There was something about him that made tax collectors, prostitutes and other “sinners” regard him as safe or approachable. They didn’t view the religious leaders in the same way. They certainly weren’t safe or approachable.
In a culture where fewer and fewer folks have deep and abiding relationships, we have a desperate need for more safe Christians. In a world where crisis and trauma are aplenty, we have an urgent need for men and women who are “safe Christians.” Are you a safe Christian? What might make you unsafe to others? What do you need to repent of in order to become safer? Do you want to be a safe Christian? My own experience has proven that being safe doesn’t necessarily mean easier or less messy, but I think it looks more like Jesus and I think that’s the main goal of discipleship.
Praying this morning that God will raise up a host of “safe Christians” for this moment in which we find ourselves…starting with me.
Christ’s Peace,
Lance
CGGC eNews—Vol. 16, No. 13
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