Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father which is in heaven. Matthew 5:16
For the many of you who won't know, a small town not far from me recently stopped displaying the Christian flag at the Town Hall. This created a small uproar among alot of the professing Christians in the area. I, however, could barely care less, and I'm going to tell you why in as little time as possible.
The Christian flag was created quite literally by accident when a man was called upon to improvise a Sunday School lesson in the late 19th century. That means Christianity existed for almost 1900 years without it. And it represents (are you ready for this?)...NOTHING! That's right, nothing. A flag's purpose is to represent a nation, creed, or allegiance. The Christian flag, however, does not do that. It's claimed by people of so many denominations and varied belief systems that it is virtually worthless as a symbol of belief. People claim it who don't even accept the Christ for Whom it was named. People claim it who don't accept His Word. It represents too much to actually represent anything.
But more importantly, the only banner of true Christianity given in the Scripture is the believer himself. This is not a situation like taking the Bible and prayer out of the school system. And it's not like denying people the right to pray publicly in Christ's name. This is about a completely unbiblical, man-made concept that has aided in making true believers passive about the sharing of their faith. WE are supposed to be the Christian flag. WE are supposed to represent Christ and His kingdom. I can't help but wonder how many...or few...of the people so indignant about this whole deal actually live in a way that well-represents Christ and Christianity. It is our responsibility to be salt and light and ambassadors. And I feel like we try to use things like a flag or a bumper sticker or a plaque in the kitchen as a surrogate for actually being the witnesses we ought be.
That's why I don't care about the "Christian flag debate". It's not a piece of cloth's job to claim my town for Christ. It's mine. It's yours. It's OURS. Are we doing our job? Or are we hoping a generic piece of cloth will do it for us?
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1 comment:
I'm glad someone finally said it. I think as Christians we have much more important things to do other than fight over some fabric and whether or not we're allowed to hang it. I think that the time standing outside to guard it could be better spent in actual ministry and the food and resources used could go to feed a lot of hungry people who are suffering from job loss right now.
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