Axe Memorial
United Methodist ChurchMonday Devotional: February 5, 2024
Bible Reading: 2 Corinthians 4:3-6 (NRSVUE)
3 And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing. 4 In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing clearly the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. 5 For we do not proclaim ourselves; we proclaim Jesus Christ as Lord and ourselves as your slaves for Jesus’s sake. 6 For it is the God who said, “Light will shine out of darkness,” who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ.
We often see the adjective “Christian” attached to things with little clarity as to why it is there or what it means. The church can become a social club whose membership rules involve participating in Christian activities, buying Christian products, and eating at Christian restaurants.
But the gospel is not about being Christian. The gospel is about Christ. The word Christian means “little Christ” so being Christian involves following the teachings and person of Jesus. Christian is not a label that sanitizes secular goods to make them fit for our consumption; it is the name given to those baptized into Jesus’ death and resurrection.
The danger of pigeonholing ourselves as “Christians” who do “Christian” things is that our faith and life become more about being “Christian” than about God. We point to ourselves and our Christianity more than we point to Christ.
The good news is that pointing to Jesus instead of to ourselves takes the pressure off us! We are called to be the body of Christ here on earth, to grow in God’s likeness, to be perfected in love, and yet we fall short. But when we profess God and not ourselves, we can own our brokenness and proclaim the One who heals; we can admit our sin and witness to the One who takes our sin away; we can confess our hypocrisy and gesture toward the Source of truth. We can remove the veil of “Christian” labels and see Christ clearly by the light of God’s face.
When we proclaim God and not ourselves, we practice humility. Humility is not about thinking of ourselves as less than others but about knowing our true place in creation. Our place in creation is as beloved children of God. When we know that, we can point beyond ourselves with humble, thankful hearts.
Prayer
God, give me the knowledge of your truth but give me also humility so that I always point to you and never to myself. Amen.
By Sarah S. Howell, The Upper Room Disciplines 2015, page 55.