I see you are a Christian.

Be gracious to me, O LORD, for I am in distress; my eye wastes away from grief, my soul and body also.  For my life is spent with sorrow, and my years with sighing; my strength fails because of my misery, and my bones waste away.  I am the scorn of all my adversaries, a horror to my neighbors, an object of dread to my acquaintances; those who see me in the street flee from me.  I have passed out of mind like one who is dead; I have become like a broken vessel. For I hear the whispering of many– terror all around!– as they scheme together against me, as they plot to take my life. But I trust in you, O LORD; I say, “You are my God.” My times are in your hand; deliver me from the hand of my enemies and persecutors. Let your face shine upon your servant; save me in your steadfast love. Psalm 31:9-16
I believe our Psalm today tries to articulate some of the feelings that Jesus might have had- knowing that he had enemies who wanted him dead.  Even though it was written years before, it still holds emotions that speak to us even today.  Anyone who has felt outcast or betrayed might have had some of these feelings.  It brings to my mind a Jr. High cafeteria (which I firmly believe is one of the most terrifying places on earth when you are a student.)
So where do we turn on our most distressing days?  The text clearing says that we must trust in the Lord.  That we are saved by the steadfast love that is unending.  This is the message of Holy week and Easter.  That we are saved by love through Jesus.  But do we ever ask “Saved from what?”
To some the answer is obvious-saved from being denied a place in heaven with our creator.  But I find this answer over simplified because we are saved from so much more.  We are saved from a life of despair and loneliness.  We are saved from a life without hope, and most importantly, we are saved from a life that has no meaning or purpose.  As Christ followers, we clearly have a purpose.  We are commanded by Jesus to love God with our whole heart and to love our neighbors as ourselves.  This is a full time job!  This is our guiding principle that defines us as we function in the world.
I was visiting the hospital last week when I noticed a woman with a walker in the parking lot turn around.  She looked anxious and fretful.  I approached her and asked if she needed some help and she told me she had called AAA but they had stopped to help someone else in the parking lot and she couldn’t get their attention.  I offered to do her walking and talking for her.  After taking care of this simple task, she thanking me profusely and commented on how nice I was.  She said to me “I see you are a Christian.”  It caught me off guard because I couldn’t imagine how she could know that.  I was thrilled because for a moment I thought she knew me as a Christian because of my kindness and loving act.  I realized very quickly that she had noticed the cross I always wear around my neck.
Can you imagine how wonderful it would be if Christians could be seen because of their loving acts?  That instead of crosses, symbols or shirts with Christian phrases, that Christians could be identified because they clearly acted differently than regular people.  That they were kind and loving and helpful?  Imagine a time when a person would say “That guy must be a Christian because he….”  This is what we are called to as Christ followers-our actions should be louder than our words.

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