Following Jesus: An Introduction to Christian Thought
My journey into Christian Thought started with a phone call. On the other end was a gentleman who was upset about something said about homosexuality by the leader of the organization I was working for at the time. I knew what I believed about the subject, but this man, also claiming to be a Christian, believed differently. How could this be? We talked for a while, I shared some verses from scripture, and we respectfully ended the call agreeing to disagree.
Two things happened as a result of that call. First, I bought Can You be Gay and Christian by Dr. Michael Brown (his Biblically-based perspective on controversial subjects has shaped my thinking on many issues. Here is a link to his website). Second, I began to ask myself how can two people who believe both the Bible and Jesus come to different conclusions about a central cultural issue, and are there more of these issues?
Christian Thought is simply looking at these issues, both large and small, and allowing the Bible to shape our thinking on them, whether that is what we have always believed or not.
As followers of Jesus, our goal should be to represent Him to the world around us and some of the best opportunities that we have to do that are in how we engage with current events, respond to difficult situations, and treat the people around us.
Now while that all sounds good, you may be asking how do I do this practically? Well, I think there are two questions that you can ask about anything that happens personally or globally to gain Jesus’ perspective. The first is this, how would Jesus respond to this situation? I know that sounds super basic, but how many times do we start somewhere else? How many times do we start with how we feel personally about the situation? By starting with how Jesus would respond we guarantee that we are moving in the right direction.
The second question to ask yourself is this, why would Jesus respond that way? We not only need to know what to do or how to think, but why we should think this way or take this course of action. This second question will force us to look through Scripture to find support for our answers and then we will be able to answer anyone who asks why we believe this way.
Now for the fun part… We do not have time to go into these examples in-depth, but I am going to list off a few current events so you can ask yourself those two questions. Really ask how would Jesus respond and why?
The Presidential Election
Healthcare
The recent shooting in Colorado
Racial Injustice
The minimum wage
Ok, how was it? The answer key is down at the bottom if you want to see how you did. Just kidding! Because that wasn’t the point. Some questions do have clear answers, but others do not. So do we give up? No! The point of Christian Thought is not to find the right answer so we can see who is wrong but to be more like Jesus and allow Him to shape our thinking day by day.
Christian Thought is a necessary part of our lives as followers of Jesus. Throughout this site, there will be more posts on current events and hot topics in the future and I pray they help shape your thought process on those issues, but more than that I pray they challenge you to fall more in love with Jesus.
Garrett
