CANNED CHRISTIANS

“For in Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set you free from the law of sin and death.”  (Romans 8:2)

I used to think when someone becomes a Christian he must submit to the traditional picture.  He must "fit in" with all the rest of us.  He must be labeled "Christian," so that anyone can recognize him as a Christian.  Every Christian must look and act alike, and be as easily recognizable as the same company cans on the supermarket shelf.  He has to conform to a certain size can.  Some things he can do, other things he cannot; some thou shalts, and quite a few thou shalt nots.

Of course, he must give up his "worldly habits" and "worldly friends," and if, for example, he still drinks or smokes, he will not quite fit into the can.  We will have to compress him a little further.  So, all of my Christianity reduces itself to one long exercise of compressing and squeezing into a can labeled, "Christian."

But I can't find anything about this in Your words, Lord … Nothing about a canned Christian.  You never bound Your disciples.  You set them free.  You told us to deny ourselves, but You said it in the positive context of following.  You strike at the core of our pride.  You do not want us to chop off a few habits and then sneak that core of pride into the can.  How subtle and sinful we are!  You have come to release us; not to repress us.  You have come to set us free.  "If then the Son sets you free, you will indeed be free." (John 8:36)

-- H.S. Vigeveno in “Jesus the Revolutionary”

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