Who I am in Christ

Some time ago I read an article giving credit to Garrison Keillor of Lake Wobegon fame for insights on what it means to be Methodist. Many of his observations are true for our church and many of his observations are true for our own personality's!

Here are a few for your enjoyment:
*Methodists believe in prayer, but would practically die if asked to
pray out loud.

*Methodists like to sing, except when confronted with a new hymn or a
hymn with more than four stanzas.

*Methodists believe their pastors will visit them in the hospital, even
if they don't notify them that they are there.

*Methodists usually follow the official liturgy and will feel it is
their way of suffering for their sins.

*Methodists believe in miracles and even expect miracles, especially
during their stewardship visitation programs or when passing the plate.

There are several more and I found myself laughing out loud when I first read them. I also found myself wondering how others see me in light of my claim that I am a Christian, a disciple of Jesus Christ.

*Do others see me embarrassed or ashamed to speak to my friend, to Jesus?

*Do they see me as closed-minded to a new way of exploring God's grace in the world?

*Do people look at me and see someone so absorbed in her own life experiences that I can not see another's pain or suffering?

*Is my service to God an witness of joy in resurrection or is it a chore that must be completed for a reward?

*Finally, can I see the miracles that surround me and am I willing to be the miracle someone else may need?

These are questions we can each ask ourselves without worrying whether we are Methodist or Baptist, Pentecostal or Presbyterian, or another denomination. These are questions to ask of ourselves as Christians, followers of Jesus Christ. Above all else, I pray that others may see Jesus when they look at me and that they may recognize the love that pours from His hands.

"‘This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends." - John 15:12-13