**RE-POSTING** Christianity as a Verb

 The other day, I got one of those notices from LinkedIn about "someone I might know".

I know the person and I'm familiar with the title they had given themselves. The title is an honorary one allowed for mature females in a congregation or denomination.

Don't know who she is, but Navonne Johns got this right

This person is someone I knew very well when I was a child and who I had the chance to be around again a few year ago. Though they have this honorary title and speak the "language" of the denomination well, my direct experience with them is what brings me to this blog post.

I'm not going to speak on this person as an individual, but I do want to talk about how so many of us are more proficient at looking and acting like Christians than we are at living the Christian faith.

Recently, our pastor spoke about Jesus's words from Matthew 25:

I was hungry, and you gave me food. I was thirsty, and you gave me something to drink. I was alone and away from home, and you invited me into your house.  I was without clothes, and you gave me something to wear. I was sick, and you cared for me. I was in prison, and you visited me.’

“Then the good people will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and give you food, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you alone and away from home and invite you into our house? When did we see you without clothes and give you something to wear? When did we see you sick or in prison and care for you?’

“Then the King will answer, ‘I tell you the truth, anything you did for even the least of my people here, you also did for me.’ (Matthew 25:35-40 NCV)

This is a passage I was always fortunate to use from the viewpoint of the one giving food, drink, and shelter. It's when I went through a period of being on the end of need that I learned what it really means.

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When I found myself physically sick and emotionally lost and in almost complete despair, I learned what true Christianity is. I also saw what dead faith is.

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You can do both!

Their were two women who cared for me with unconditional love and, literally, saved my life. One is a woman who is not even Christian. She's more of a Humanist than anything else. She is my best friend and has been with me when I was at the "top of my game" as well as when I fell hard.

My friend does not attend church. She does not yet embrace Jesus as her Savior. But my friend has never acted toward people in a way that makes me question human kindness. She's never acted in a way to make me question my own belief in Jesus. She's never been anything but good and decent to me and anyone else she meets.

In my own time of need, my friend gave me a safe place to stay. She fed me, clothed me, and even nursed me - and I didn't even know how physically sick I was at the time. She let my family know that they didn't need to worry at all about me because I was with her and would be taken care of. She didn't criticize me for any of the bad choices I had made that had brought me to the point I was at. She just loved me and cared for me. Period.

I keep loving my friend and living my life as a Christian in such a way that she sees the Christ in me that she says she doesn't see in other believers.

The other woman is my aunt.My aunt is a Christian. She's not the one you'll see at church every time the doors open. She's not the one singing at every state meeting. Her name isn't known throughout the denomination she belongs to. There are no honorary titles before or after her name.

My aunt praises God without a microphone or without wearing bright, pretty clothes and big Kentucky Derby style hats.

My aunt is the woman who, when you call to wish her a Happy Thanksgiving, reminds you that every day is a day of thanksgiving. She'll say something like, "The Lord woke you up yesterday morning, didn't He? Then be thankful and praise His name for each day."

My aunt was there for me just as my friend was. She gave me mother-love and motherly advice. She prayed for me. She sat with me while I cried and wrestled with hard decisions. She was my comfort when I felt deserted and abused and orphaned. I was away from home and family, but I was pulled into her home and into her protection. She would have put her life at risk for mine.

To this day, of all the people in this world that I know - family, friends, Christians, former co-workers - these are the two women I can count on unconditionally. I can pick up the phone at any time of day or night and just say, "I need you", and they will be there. I know that God loves me because He put into my life two people who know what love means. One of those women may not yet understand why love means what it does, but I'm still praying for her.

The woman with the honorary title is well-known in her denomination. She is a beautiful and gifted with specific talents. She speaks in tongues and "shouts" in praise and worship. She spends a lot of time attending church services, evangelical meetings and regional and national conventions. She knows the Bible. None of that meant anything to me when I needed to be loved.

I'm not ashamed (now) to say that I was teetering on the edge of suicide when I went through that dark period of my life. If not physical suicide, then spiritual suicide. I had decided that if I was meant to live, God would give me a reason. My reason was that I had two people who loved me deeply.

The two women who were there for me taught me something important about life: Goodness, holiness, kindness and mercy matter most as verbs. Where would any of us be if God kept all His goodness and mercy to Himself?

When I look back now on those days, I don't think too much about the titles of people I was around. I no longer look at how well someone can recite the Bible or sing the praise songs. I don't even care about denominations. What I will always remember - and use in my own life - is that some people did as Jesus taught while some people didn't.

Peace
--Free