Water cup dispenser-talk of the gods

There are drawbacks to being a Christian, God knows. People tend to judge the quality of a faith by its believers, and are entirely justified in doing so. It would seem then that I might do more harm than good to Jesus´ name. Publicity-wise, wouldn´t it be prudent sometimes being a bit quiet about the whole Christian tag on my person, so when I act the dirtbag, the dirt sticks on me rather than the cross? I don´t mind a bad rep, it´s well earned, but Christ should be praised and glorified, not humiliated by my thoughts, words and actions. Why should he be praised and glorified? Because he´s willing to be humiliated on mine and your´s account. Appearantly, God values us higher than publicity and and religious prestige. Maybe God has a lousy PR-manager?

I imagine the gods having a conference on some current topic, and when it´s time for the tea and biscuits, mighty JHWH gets teased by the other big names. Buddha got those monks in their orange outfit, living on ridiculous altitudes in the Himalayas, Muhammad´s Allah has devotees getting trampled underfoot every year at his shrine in Meccah, and let´s not even begin with the Hindu gurus, there we can talk of some serious religious fervor. And what does God have to show up, let´s say in a completely ordinary, fantastic little church in a little, nondescript though beautiful, Swedish town by the Baltic Sea? A church where it´s hard to tell the sinner from the saint, a church still entirely dependant of pure, unadultered, uncalled for, Charity. With little other choice than to beg and pray constantly, in fact encouraged to be annoyingly incessant in prayer. Luckily God doesn´t have a conference of other gods to impress, he´s the Man and knows it.

The greatness of Christian faith is not to be found in the believer, it´s in the in-between. The covenant, the bond between God and man, between God and me and me and you. It´s a love of a magnitude this world has never known, nor ever will know. Little need then to cast golden calves, gods of our own design, “become-god-in-ten-easy-steps” on late afternoon teve talkshows. Shut it off and tune in: God loves you.

For this reason I kneel before the Father, from whom his whole family in heaven and on earth derives its name. I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.
Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.
Ephesians 3:14-21