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March 10, 2005
Rabbit-Hole Christians
Jesus . . . said to him, "Zacchaeus, make haste
and come down, for today I must stay at your house." —Luke 19:5
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Rabbits are timid
creatures that pop out of their holes every morning, try to avoid everything
(except other rabbits), eat their food, and jump back into their holes in the
evening. "Whew! We made it through another day," they'd say if they
could talk.
Rabbit-hole
Christians are a lot like that. They eat lunch with other Christians at work
and relate almost exclusively with fellow-believers in their church. They avoid
socializing with unbelievers and wouldn't think of accepting an invitation to
one of their parties. No wonder unbelievers equate being a Christian with a
kind of aloof self-righteousness.
No one
could say that about Jesus. He actually invited Himself to the home of
Zacchaeus, a notorious tax collector. His congeniality among disreputable
people earned Him the title of "a friend of tax collectors and
sinners" (Matthew 11:19).
He reached out to such people because He knew He couldn't help them without
becoming their friend. Jesus never said anything He shouldn't have said, nor
did He laugh at off-color stories. He won people's respect by caring for them.
Jesus has
equipped us with the Holy Spirit and assured us that He'll be with us so we can
follow His example. Let's guard against being rabbit-hole Christians. —Herb
Vander Lugt
Help
us, O Lord, to live our lives
So people clearly see
Reflections of Your caring heart,
Your love and purity. —Sper
Jesus leaves us in the world to be a
witness to the world.
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Kamis, 10 Maret
Orang Kristiani Lubang
Kelinci
Yesus … berkata, “Zakheus, segeralah turun, sebab hari ini aku harus menumpang
di rumahmu” (Lukas 19:5)
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Bacaan: Ulangan
32-34
Kelinci adalah makhluk
pemalu yang melompat keluar dari lubang mereka tiap pagi. Mereka berusaha
menghindari segala sesuatu (kecuali kelinci lain), makan, dan melompat
kembali ke dalam lubangnya di sore hari. “Ha, kita telah
melewati satu hari lagi,” ujar mereka jika dapat berbicara.
Orang kristiani
lubang kelinci mirip dengan itu. Di kantor, mereka makan siang bersama orang
kristiani lainnya dan berhubungan secara istimewa dengan orang percaya lainnya
di gereja. Mereka tidak mau berbaur dengan orang-orang yang belum percaya dan
menolak hadir di pesta yang mereka adakan. Tak heran jika orang-orang yang
belum percaya menganggap orang kristiani hidup dalam pembenaran terhadap diri
sendiri.
Namun, Yesus
tidak demikian. Kenyataannya, Dia mengundang diri-Nya sendiri untuk datang ke
rumah Zakheus, seorang pemungut cukai yang jahat. Pergaulan-Nya dengan
orang-orang hina membuat Dia dijuluki “Sahabat pemungut cukai dan orang
berdosa” (Matius 11:19). Dia bergaul dengan orang-orang semacam itu karena
sadar Dia tak dapat menolong mereka bila tidak menjadi Sahabat mereka. Yesus
tak pernah mengatakan sesuatu yang tidak perlu Dia katakan, dan Dia pun tidak
tertawa karena mendengar kisah-kisah yang tak senonoh. Dia dihormati banyak
orang karena Dia memerhatikan mereka.
Yesus telah memperlengkapi kita
dengan Roh Kudus dan meyakinkan kita bahwa Dia akan menyertai sehingga kita
dapat meneladani hidup-Nya. Berjaga-jagalah agar Anda tidak menjadi orang
kristiani lubang kelinci —HVL
YESUS MENINGGALKAN KITA DI DUNIA
AGAR KITA MENJADI SAKSI BAGI DUNIA
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