James 2:17-18
"Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone. Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: show me thy faith without works, and I will show thee my faith by my works."
This is the verse that came to my mind during our Faith Integration class this morning. It is easy for someone to say, "Yeah, I'm a Christian," but it is also really easy to mess up and cause someone else pain. People recognize Christians by their actions; not the way they look or how smart they might be, but what they do.
I think it is really great that nurses, CNAs, or other staff members at the sites NU students go to notice that NU students are different than other nursing students. It is a good opportunity for us to make a positive impact for the gospel when we associate ourselves with a Christian institution. Yet, the association unnerves me, because I am afraid I will mess up, or react badly to a situation thus letting down my fellow students and professors. More than this, I am afraid of reflecting poorly on Christians and Christianity in general. Too often I have seen and heard stories of people who profess to be Christians, but do not act like one. The effects of such actions can be devastating to other Christians who may become discouraged, or harmful to people who may have been interested in Christianity, but were disgusted or "turned off" by that one person's actions. My prayer and hope is that I will be able to reflect the love of Christ to those I work with without causing someone else to doubt or stumble in their faith.
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Dear Cassandra,
ReplyDeleteDeep thoughts, girl! I really appreciate how you expressed your fear about how our actions reflect on Christ. I think you are very wise for you and all of us to be contemplating this now, at the start of clinicals. Thanks for sharing, definite food for thought.
Blog #8:
ReplyDeleteI agree with you Cassandra, as Christians we have a very particular mandate to represent not only ourselves but also Christ and the Father. Too many times, Christians are characterized by their outspoken opinions rather than by lives of action that demonstrate love and peace. In my opinion, there are both pro’s and con’s to being identified as a Christian. The pro’s are certainly obvious: we become associated with Christ and the Father and the message of the gospel; love, peace and justice. The cons include being associated with a vast number of mistakes made by both individual Christians and the Christian community. People may have a number of presuppositions about Christians that may or may not be true. I certainly do not contribute to society’s disillusionment with Christianity, or be an inaccurate reflection of the true message of Christ. But we can be encouraged: God has made us voluntary creatures, who are inhabited by the Holy Spirit, and through relationships with both our co-workers and our patients, we can be part of the solution to this problem. We can set the record straight about Christ’s love and peace. We can demonstrate the gospel in our actions. We can be honest about our failures and short-comings. We can allow the message of Christ to be heard over all the confusion and failures of his followers.
Blog #8:
ReplyDeleteI agree with you Cassandra, as Christians we have a very particular mandate to represent not only ourselves but also Christ and the Father. Too many times, Christians are characterized by their outspoken opinions rather than by lives of action that demonstrate love and peace. In my opinion, there are both pro’s and con’s to being identified as a Christian. The pro’s are certainly obvious: we become associated with Christ and the Father and the message of the gospel; love, peace and justice. The cons include being associated with a vast number of mistakes made by both individual Christians and the Christian community. People may have a number of presuppositions about Christians that may or may not be true. I certainly do not want to contribute to society’s disillusionment with Christianity, or be an inaccurate reflection of the true message of Christ. But we can be encouraged: God has made us voluntary creatures, who are inhabited by the Holy Spirit, and through relationships with both our co-workers and our patients, we can be part of the solution to this problem. We can set the record straight about Christ’s love and peace. We can demonstrate the gospel in our actions. We can be honest about our failures and short-comings. We can allow the message of Christ to be heard over all the confusion and failures of his followers.
Blog number 9.
ReplyDeleteChristians fail. It is so hard to see people turn away from God because of the thoughtless actions of Christians, but we need to remember that God allows these things to happen. His plan is greater and we cannot write-off people forever. I have seen people come to Christ that I had given up on. So basically what I'm saying is that we cannot think that our mistakes will mess up God's plans. We just aren't that big of a deal. We can never mess up so much that we disturb God's plans.