The Greatest of These

For the majority of my life, I have been surrounded by Christians. When I was younger, I went to Sunday school and learned all the classic Bible stories that most children learn at church. My family members taught me all of the Bible songs, and I watched children's worship DVDs, as well as "Bible Man" and "The Odyssey" videos. (Believe it or not, I don't remember ever being into Veggie Tales.) I even memorized The Lord's Prayer at a pretty young age, which was extremely gratifying for a little kid.

Because I was raised in God's Word, I met many different types of Christians. When I was in elementary school, I didn't really know that there were different types of Christians. I went to a public school and assumed that if my friend said they were a Christian, then they were, and that was the end of it. I thought that if they told me they were a Christian, then they must be just like my family was and that they read their Bibles and had accepted Christ as their savior. It was sad for me to grow up and realize that most likely, a lot of those little kids - a lot of my friends - didn't know what a Christian really was.

My greatest hope is that maybe, even though I was only in elementary school, God's light shone through my life. I remember very clearly talking to other kids in my class about God. I remember going home to my mother and telling her how much I wanted my friends to believe in Jesus. I know I told kids about God, but I have no idea if any of them remember what I said. I can only hope that even though I was very young and didn't know anything about saving someone's soul, maybe my childlike enthusiasm rubbed off on them enough that they remembered Emma Vordenbaum when they grew up, and maybe they wondered, "What was it that made her different?"

Sitting here thinking back on it now, the only thing that I can think of that anyone would remember is kindness. When people are kind to me, I remember it. I think of that one time that someone switched seats for me on the airplane, or the other time when someone smiled at me in the hallways, and I remember how good it felt to know that someone made an effort - even if it was a small one - to be kind to me. I also remember how good it feels when I'm kind to others. I'll never forget this one time that I smiled at an old lady at Cracker Barrel - I mean, all I did was smile at her - and she was so happy about it. She told me how nice I was to smile at her - she seemed genuinely surprised that I had smiled at her - and it made me wonder if anyone was ever nice to this lady at all. I mean, how horrible would it be if the only nice thing anyone ever did for you was smile at you at Cracker Barrel?

The fact is, people NEED kindness in their lives. People need Christians in their lives who will make small gestures in passing to show God's love. But even more than that, people need Christians who will stop and listen to them and just show that they care. Not only do I remember telling people about Jesus in elementary school, but I remember that for some reason, whenever someone I knew had a problem, I would find them coming to me to talk about it and get advice. I remember a time when a girl I knew - and by "knew," I mean we weren't even really friends - came to me to talk about a problem she had. I was really surprised that she came to me because she hadn't talked to me in ages, but I put aside whatever recess plans I had that day to talk to her. She spent the entire afternoon walking around the playground and talking with me. I gave her the best advice I could think of, but most of all, I listened. That is what people need, is someone who cares enough to listen to them and show that they are valued and loved and that their problems are a priority. Even little kids need someone to talk to and someone who cares.

But as I go to Christian schools and meet more and more types of Christians, I realize that there are a lot of us who don't bother with that. I meet a lot of Christians who spend their whole day preaching - maybe not preaching, but yelling, lecturing, arguing, or shoving their beliefs down people's throats. They spend all their time trying to prove God's existence and debate about what the Bible says instead of reaching out to people who are hurting.

Don't get me wrong - we need people to speak the truth and preach what God wants us to hear. Without that, Christianity will crumble. But here's the truth: sometimes, people don't need Christians yapping in their ears all day long about how "homosexuality is wrong" and "liars go to hell" and "humanity is evil" - this is exactly why Christianity often has a bad image. Sometimes, people don't need someone with a holier-than-thou attitude - they need a person who understands and is willing to show kindness to ALL sinners, no matter what sins they are guilty of. They need a person who has accepted their imperfectness and has embraced forgiveness.

I have said this over and over to myself and to everyone around me - God's greatest commandment is to love each other. "The greatest of these is love," the Bible says. This is what Christ calls us to do - plant seeds of kindness wherever we go. I have seen it over and over again - people showing kindness and love without judgement or condemnation, and that simple action leading to salvation. Sometimes, the best thing you can do is love someone, and it will be the first step toward Christ.

I have watched so many people be pushed away from Christ because of Christians who hate other sinners for the things they do or the things they believe, and it breaks my heart every time. I've had friends tell me that they can't stand Christians because of how judgmental they are. These friends of mine must have rarely seen Christians act like Jesus. Jesus never turned away a broken man. He never hated a person for what they were - He only drew them closer by loving them and showing them the truth with gentleness. It even says in Ephesians 3:20 - "His spirit, working deeply and gently within us."

This is not what God wants for us. This is not what God wants for anyone, to be turned away, hated, or ignored. My message for Christians today is this: do not become self-righteous with your knowledge of the Bible or of your relationship with God. Don't let yourself believe that you know everything or that you are perfect, because this will lead to not only your destruction, but the destruction of countless other lives. Yes, we are called to tell the truth about God and we are called to defend our faith, but not in a way that belittles others, hurts them, or breaks them down. We are called to save others, and the most effective way to do this is to be kind. The only way to show people who God is is to exemplify God in our lives, displaying his characteristics in everything that we do.

If you were a nonbeliever and you needed salvation, how would you want another Christian to bring you to Christ?