the basic message #E339
6/12/05
As the United States continues on with an ever-increasing war effort in Iraq, the subject of Islam remains of interest to the American people. I personally believe good Muslims are unfairly lumped in with terrorists that also happen to be Muslims. Wasn't Timothy McVeigh a professing Christian? Would it be fair for Muslims to simply say all Christians are like McVeigh? While I don't profess to know everything about Islam and Muslims, I do firmly believe that right-wingers use a broad brush when proclaiming their thoughts about Muslims.
I find it interesting that Muslims acknowledge the virgin birth of Jesus, although they don't consider him to be the Son of God. Quite frankly, that single factor makes Islam more loyal to Christ than some Christians. How so? There are people who profess Christianity, yet aren't convinced that Jesus was born of a virgin. I'm no expert regarding the Koran, but I think we can safely assume that our Old Testament and the Koran have many similarities. Is our Abraham, Isaac and Jacob the same Abraham, Isaac and Jacob of Islam? What Islam lacks, quite simply, is Jesus as Savior. Maybe my "quite simply" is an affront to some of you. Perhaps you consider it arrogant on my part that I mention Jesus in such trivial terms. On the contrary, I intend to prove here that many of you are trivializing Jesus far more than my words do here.
Muslims respect Jesus, even though they don't consider him to be God. Is that a fair statement? Christians, on the other hand, should acknowledge Jesus to be God and respect him. That's where the problem comes in: "respect", or more appropriately, a lack thereof. Who do you respect? What are the characteristics of those you respect, and how do you show your respect to them? Since this weekly message is almost always a one-sided conversation, I'll go first. I respect people who are decent and honest. I respect people who take care of their business while avoiding meddling in the business of others. I respect people who live by the creed "all things in moderation", choosing to live a simple life, unburdened by the turmoil of "keeping up with the Joneses". I respect people who are reliable, both on the job and in their personal lives. If they say they'll meet me at noon, I can usually count on them being their at ten till. When their employer hands them a paycheck for 40 hours of work, I know that their employer probably got 45 hours.
Now that you know who I respect, allow me to reveal how I show my respect toward them. I listen to people I respect. I may not agree with every opinion they have, but you can be sure that I'll closely listen to why they believe what they believe. In many cases, I've found myself changing my opinions and beliefs to those of the people I respect and admire. In many cases I end up mimicking the actions of these people as well. After all, if I've come to believe they have a solid viewpoint on a particular subject, I'll be wise to do some of the same things they do. In essence, if I really admire and respect someone, I'm going to try to be like them, right? What does this have to do with Muslims, you might be wondering. I recently wrote a book entitled, "I Never Knew You", and in Chapter 6, titled "What did Jesus say?", I offer many Scriptural references in which Jesus gives us specific advice. Like what?
Mark 8:34
Then he called the crowd to him along with his disciples and said: "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me."
Jesus was often a man of few words. If he rattled on like I usually do, he might have added other sentences in with the one above. He might have asked, "Do you respect me?" "Do you think I have a better handle on how you should live than you do?" Jesus could have said many things, but he simply told them (and us) to deny ourselves and take up our cross and follow him. Is that complicated?
John 13:15
"I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you."
Once again, is this statement hard to understand? Jesus quietly asserts his deity in saying, "Do what I do, if you really believe in me." This, my friends, is where the rubber meets the road. Do we really believe? Do we believe yet continue down our own path rather than the path of Jesus Christ? May I suggest that anyone who continues down their own path may need to reevaluate their "belief"? How can any of us say we respect Jesus when we have no interest in imitating him? If we can congregate on Sunday morning and "worship" Jesus, why can't we put his words into action 24 hours later when we begin our workweek?
In the same church building where we extol the virtues of Jesus Christ, we often discuss the characteristics of Satan. We usually agree he is cunning, deceiving, crafty, sneaky, etc. If we're still in agreement that we mimic those we respect, then that must prove that most of us respect Satan, since our lives are frequently characterized by the same attributes he's famous for.
In closing, I find myself amazed that the average Christian in America has little use for Muslims, but when I look at the lives of the majority of the Christian church, I think Muslims, though not acknowledging Jesus to be God, may have more respect for our Savior than many of those who claim him as Savior. Go figure.