Religion or Discipleship?

      Most people today when presented with Christ are actually being presented religion.  It is easy to fall into this trap of Satan.  When we evangelize here and abroad it is common to introduce ourselves and the church being represented.  When a visitor visits a church he is usually shown what the church can offer or he is neglected.  At work someone shares Christ, but their claims seem to be extraordinary coming from the person they see on a regular basis.

      Dr. Radhakrishnan observed it this way, "If your Christ has not succeeded in making you better men and women, have we any reason to suppose that He would do more for us, if we became Christians."  What happens in most cases is that unknowingly we are presenting religion rather than Christ Himself.

      Does the world revolve around us or Christ?  We say it revolves around Christ, but our lives say it revolves around us or man in general.  Many claim the promise of John  12:32 "And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me.", but end up lifting up something else like their music, order of service, the church name or standards.  The list could go on, but when one takes a good outside look at it, like a first time visitor, they will find that it most likely is not Christ being lifted up.

      We know that teaching and discipleship composes most of the Great Commission.  So why is it that we present Christianity more than Christ?  It falls back to the trap that Satan has placed in the Western Culture.  He is trying to draw the attention away from Christ on to other things.  In so doing he foils the promise that God gave us in John 12:32 and results in churches just trying to maintain and eventually die off.  The overall mission program seems to be pushed to the max.  Church members no longer see the need for faithful attendance.  Workers are getting harder to come by and the youth have to be entertained.

      All these symptoms are a direct result of presenting religion over Christ.  We have failed to disciple and teach what Christ commanded in the Bible.  We need to get back to the Bible basics and lay the foundations as Christ gave us example.  The Bible clearly states that we should not condemn another if they are of the same doctrine and Spirit (Mark 9:38-40; Col 2:16-23; John 7:18).  Most of the division we see has nothing to do with doctrine, but rather personal differences, past wrongs, preferences and personal agendas.

      God has used persecution to bring cleansing and obedience when His people fail to glorify Him above themselves.  What will God have to do in your life to fulfill His purpose of glorifying Him?

Dharma - The Eternal Way of Life

      Hinduism is much more than a religion.  It is a way of life.  Westerners have a hard time seeing the importance of these external things, but for an Indian the way you live and act is what matters, not what you hold to in your beliefs.  A person is listened to because of his character and integrity rather than his position.  What matters first and foremost to a Hindu is that you are a person of dharma.

      The Hindu community is trying to improve their dharma especially in the areas of order and respect.  A person visiting India normally does not see the diversity of the Hindu religion, but there are literally thousands of different Hindu faiths and divisions.  Their religious beliefs must be part of their overall dharma.  Many of the lower caste people have converted to other religions because of this principle of dharma.  They are looking to escape the oppression of their way of life and improve their situation mainly through political and social allegiance.  The other two-thirds of Indians who love and enjoy the caste system do so because of this dharma factor.

      Indians are community based because of this dharma.  Their festivals require that each must share with the other and cannot be at odds with someone else in the village.  Reconciliation takes place because of the value the community has to their dharma.  Another factor in these festivals is the common sharing of food and cooking.  There is a strong peer pressure on each member of the community to be unified.

      The Christian in India can be much more effective and less offensive in these cultural areas by understanding some of these factors.  Just imagine the church in India and the impact it could make if it incorporated this aspect of dharma.  It would look Indian, but even more than that it would look like the early church.  The things we just talk about having here in our western churches are an intricate part of their culture.

      Understanding another culture is a difficult process, but understanding how to effectively communicate the Gospel is even more difficult.  The western school of Christianity has strayed in many areas from our Lord Jesus Christ and His model to us.  Our prayer here at Operation India is to produce families in India who are Christ-centered and live as He did before us.  This is the true dharma of Christianity.