Get your own Free Home PageDecaffeinated?
by: Denise Mailhot, OPL
Vol. 2, No. 21 (October 23, 1999)
I was listening to a
broadcast this morning on the radio, and the speaker was discussing a recent
trip to the Middle East to shoot a film on historical Christianity. While
at the site, a Muslim fellow who had been watching the crew work came up to
this man and said something like "Hey, what's different about you people?
You're not decaffeinated!" Confused, the film person replied, "What do
you mean? I'm not nervous?"
"No," the Muslim said, "You
are different, not like other Christians who come here. You're on fire
for this Jesus!"
For some reason that
comment really touched me. These people were excited about Jesus, and it
was so obvious that someone else asked them what they were all about.
Peter says: "But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be
prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the
hope that you have (1Peter 3:15)." Can I say that about my enthusiasm for
Jesus? Or would I say instead that my faith is a private faith and I
don't want to force it upon anyone?
Let's think about that for
a few minutes. Did Jesus force Himself upon the people around Him?
Or was He "on fire" for God, and His joy overflowed outward to others? He
attracted people. He was popular! He had a great sense of humor, and He
loved to have the children gather around Him. He was always "gentle and
humble of heart." Was His faith "private?" I doubt it. He lived it and
loved and accepted people in such a way that crowds followed Him and wanted to
hear what He had to say. They wanted to be near Him, to touch Him.
Had the modern means of marketing been available, He would have preferred "word
of mouth."
When I first thought about
the word "decaffeinated," I thought about its supposed effects: calm,
unfettered by extra stimulation (of the caffeine). However, if you really
look at the word, it's a subtraction word... decaffeinated coffee doesn't
really make you peaceful at all, it just doesn't add to your agitation.
The stimulant has been neutralized. How does this apply to us as
Christians? Are we "decaffeinated"? Has the stimulation (Jesus)
been neutralized from our lives?
The opposite of "decaffeinated" in the vernacular might be "high-test." High-test coffee is strong stuff, capable of moving us or causing us to "keep on keeping on" and get the job done with plenty of energy. High-test Christians are leaders. They aren't always the parish council president
or the street
preacher. Some high-test Christians are leaders in local branches of
movements such as Cursillo or Tres Dias, or the Charismatic
movement.
Some high-test Christians
are housewives who evangelize their children and their children's
friends. Some visit strangers in nursing homes and hospitals; some are
internet geeks who spend time building web pages to bring the Good News to
people, while some are witnesses in one-to-one instant messages to others in
chat rooms who seem to be in need of God's love and mercy. Some build
homes and others do financial counseling for the poor.
"So whether you eat or
drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God. Do not cause
anyone to stumble, whether Jews, Greeks or the church of God -- even as I try
to please everybody in every way. For I am not seeking my own good but the good
of many, so that they may be saved (1 Cor 10:31-33)."
Let's be high-test
Christians, stimulated by the love that Jesus showed in His life here on earth,
and by the love He demonstrated on the cross.
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