As usual I had
trouble deciding on a title for this piece. I started with "A
Provocation" and from there went to, "Would Jesus have carried an M60?".
I have settled with "Rambo Jesus". I’m not the first to come up with
that concept. I think that it was mentioned in a movie as well.
Awhile back I
saw a post on facebook of a picture of a young Army wife holding a
semi-automatic weapon and carrying a bible while standing in front of an
American flag. I avoided posting a comment. Evidently her picture set off quite
the facebook firestorm. The subject matter is intentionally provocative. The
young woman has made at least one other provocative pose.
Did you see
what I did there? I tried putting the thought of another possibility in your
mind. Normally I wouldn't spell it out like this but I think that it's
important in this instance.
In the other
picture she made this comment, "ATTENTION
LIBERALS: do NOT look at this picture. Your head will most likely
explode." The theme was also religious in that picture. Her picture is
making the rounds again and probably will be for as long as we have an
internet.
The subject
that I'm going to address isn't about the constitution and our associated
freedoms or lack thereof. It's how we as Christians often present a mixed
message to the world of guns and bibles or intolerance for the freedom of
others based upon various interpretations of what our faith means.
I won't pretend
to have any kind of answer since what I'm usually left with are more questions.
I have guns and bibles; various quantities of both. I served in the military
and was quite prepared to do my job. I'm also grateful that I wasn't called on
to use those talents and training, though I did train others.
What message
does our love for guns and Jesus send? What message do we send as Christians
when we mock liberals, conservatives, sexuality, dress, taste in music,
physiology, the politics of others, etc.? Pick an issue. Come find Jesus, you
abomination you. Then throw in that there are Christians on both sides of most
of the major issues facing our country and faith. I realize that we aren't
alone. Other faiths face the same kind of conundrums. Non-believers deal with
the same kind of issues as well.
So if there is
a picture in your mind of Jesus, what does he look like? What color is he? How
is he dressed? Is he wearing a headband and carrying an M60? Is he wearing a
suit and tie or in an open collared dress shirt with a sports coat and jeans?
Does he smell? Is he wearing cologne?
When he was
here he blended in with the crowd. So I
think, just think mind you, that he wouldn’t now be dressed like Rambo. He
would dress in such a way as to minister to the poor, the sick, those who were
hungry, those in need. He would be dressed for the lower echelons of society.
He would not dress to appeal to the Romans of the day.
Shouldn't Love
be our unified message as Christians? That sounds easy but that's a hard page
to turn to at times. It's easier to provoke. But those chance words, viral
videos, critical little catchy sound bites do damage and cause separation. They
aren't intended to win over hearts or change minds. They are lines in the
sand—not invitations to meet and share fellowship. So yes, Love should be the
Christian message.