Where do the Christians stand?

One of most famous trials in literature is recorded in the Bible in the twenty-sixth chapter of Acts—Paul on trial before King Agrippa in Caesarea. He is accused of blasphemy by the Jews, which threatens the Jewish order, which, in turn, threatens the order kept by Rome.

But what is Paul actually guilty of? Of non-conformity. He had been like them the majority of his life— the Pharisees. He had condemned everything about the man Jesus. He had led the persecution against the Christians.

His change of mind from being the Pharisees’ man happened when he was confronted and transformed by the risen Jesus. Now, Paul was guilty of not conforming. He was guilty of believing. He was guilty of being a witness for Jesus.

What was the court’s reaction? Governor Festus, who was also present, exclaimed,

“You are out of your mind, Paul!” And isn’t that what we’re sometimes afraid of? We’re afraid people will think we’re crazy—fundamentalists, extremists, fanatics, squares, nerds, doofusses.

So we want to conform. We want to say what people want to hear. We don’t want to rock the boat. We don’t want to be associated with those we know we must defend. And so we sit, and we are silent, and we conform.

Rev. Robert Fulgum once told about being left in charge of eighty children, ages seven to ten years old. In the church fellowship hall he tried to organize them into a game of Giants, Wizards, and Dwarfs, which is a large scale version of Rock, Paper, Scissors—the only real purpose of which is to run around, make a lot of noise, and have fun.

Finally the grade-schoolers were organized into teams and the game was on. Robert yelled out: “You have to decide NOW which you are—a Giant, a Wizard, or a Dwarf!” Then he felt a tug at his pant leg. A little girl below him asked with a concerned voice, “Where do the mermaids stand?” There was a long pause—a very long pause. Robert answered, “There are no such things as Mermaids.?” But the little darling responded, “Oh, yes, I am one!”

The little girl did not relate to being a Giant, a Wizard, or Dwarf. She knew her category. And she WAS going to participate, wherever Mermaids fit into the scheme of things.

Every once in a while we say the right thing. The minister looked down at her little face and said: “The Mermaid stands right here by the King of the Sea!”

So they stood there, hand in hand.

Today, in your world, others will try to pigeonhole you. The world will declare: “You have to decide NOW which you are—a Giant, or a Wizard, or a Dwarf—an Indian, or a Cowboy—a Liberal, or a Conservative—a minority, or a majority—a White, a Black, a Latino—a pacifist or a hawk—a Texan or an American!”

And you will be tempted to be pigeon-holed, categorized, because you will want to be “in;” you will want to be “accepted;” and therefore, you will be strongly inclined to conform—to stand where others stand, or where others tell you to stand.

But, as written in the Bible, God has “separated you from the other peoples.” Dare to trust the purposes of God for his world, for his children, for you. Dare to ask, “Where do the Christians stand?”