What I Learned From Chicago

Just another game  

35‘For I was hungry, and you gave Me something to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me something to drink; I was a stranger, and you invited Me in; 36naked, and you clothed Me; I was sick, and you visited Me; I was in prison, and you came to Me.’ 37“Then the righteous will answer Him, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry, and feed You, or thirsty, and give You something to drink? 38‘And when did we see You a stranger, and invite You in, or naked, and clothe You? 39‘When did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?’ 40“The King will answer and say to them, ‘Truly I say to you, to the extent that youdid it to one of these brothers of Mine, even the least of them, you did it to Me.’
Matthew 25: 35 - 40 KJV

Growing up in the frozen reaches of Minnesota I learned to to love the game of hockey.  Hockey was everything.  Hockey was life.  In our minds there were two seasons, summer and hockey season.  For anyone who is familiar with the Minnesota climate is aware of the weather changes that often occur.  Indeed, if you were a hockey fan in Minnesota, then you were a fan of the old Minnesota North Stars.  These were the hometown boys who reperesented our state in the NHL.  If you were a fan of the North Stars, then you had a undying hatred for the Chicago Blackhawks.  To say that the Stars and Hawks had a rivalry is a understatement.  When they met it was never a rivalry, but a gutter war.  No one really knows where the bad blood betwen these two came from, it was just there.  That's all we knew.  As one can expect, in games like these, there were more than a few penalties and fights.  The scuttlebut around Minnesota is that the referees typically allowed the Blackhawks some latitude when it came to calling infractions against them.  Of course, this only added to the angst between the two.  It never failed, some Chicago player would cheap shot a Minnesota player without a penalty call.  In return, the Minnesota player would retaliate at some point to exact revenge.  Of course, it was this retaliation which was usually flagged for a penalty.  THIS, is what I learned from Chicago.  As christians we are indeed seen as the standard bearers of the faith.  Yet, what happens should one of us falter in our behavior or judgement?  Yep, you guessed it, just another hypocritical christian!  Hey, I didn't invent the rules, I just play the game.  I can totally understand the reaction of those around us whenever a God fearing christian messes up.  All too often we spend our time confessing the virtues of our new found faith.  That doesn't mean that we are all perfect, but it's how others perceive us. 

16Therefore from now on we recognize no one according to the flesh; even though we have known Christ according to the flesh, yet now we know Him in this way no longer.
2 Corinthians 5: 16 KJV

A funny thing happened to me when I became a christian.  I found out how difficult it was to be the standard bearer of the faith.  I'm not that guy.  I mess up, I accuse others, I take my heavenly Father for granted.  See, if you're looking for the poster child of the perfect christian, I'm not your man.  Far from it.  However, if you're looking for one who realizes who it is that dwells in his heart, and that he is indeed dead to his old sin nature, then I'll gladly sign up for that.  See, I believe we spend far too much time modeling ourselves into something we're not instead of letting the real person shine.  Who is that real person?  That person is now Christ Jesus who is in us {Galations 2:20}.  All that Christ was, we are as well.  We have no need to model ourselves after some make believe christian which the church will tell us makes us more like Jesus.  We already are like Jesus!  When we try so hard to be someone we're not, we're just posing for others to see.  I'm not that guy.  I already know who I am.  When we realize that we can simply be who we truly are and not pose for those around us, we are free from the guilt and shame of those times when our flesh comes through.  Remember, our old nature no longer defines us {Romans 6: 6-11}.  We're dead to that.  Likewise, we should no longer judge those behaviors of others according to the flesh.  Unless you play for the Chicago Blackhawks, then you will always be the worst of sinners! 

~Scott~