Whitewashed Christians

You want to be a winner, Without taking a loss You want to be a disciple, Without counting the cost
You want to follow Jesus, But you don't want to go to the cross. Everyone wants to get to heaven Lord, Nobody wants to die.
John Fischer

All of us like the fuzzy, comfortable, milquetoast Jesus that speaks of love and peace. We deny and shy away from the hard truths that require us to submit our minds and emotions to Jesus and do what the Bible says to do. This whitewashed Christianity reveals much about our shallow faith and little about the Jesus we claim to follow.


The last straw in my first marriage was the affair my ex-wife had with the guy that fixed the tile in our house. The entire situation tested my willingness to forgive and allow for reconciliation. I kept coming back to the person of Jesus and how He forgave. We are told to follow in His steps.

Christ’s wasn’t a half-hearted forgiveness nor a lack of willingness to suffer at the hands of His enemies. Many a Christian draws a line in the sand and says, “I will only forgive up to this point.” Oddly enough those that sin against them always pass that point. The same goes for other ways in which we follow the example of Christ; our work ethic, our praying for our leaders, our loving the homeless guy in the produce department.

Galatians tells us that “(we) were called to freedom, brethren; only do not turn your freedom into an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another.” Our calling is not to live the easy, shiny-on-the-outside Christian life. Ours is to be willing to live life in the power of the Holy Spirit, dying to flesh and living fully for God.