No Strings Attached
Here's what makes Christianity different from other world religions.
Philip Yancey, in his book “What’s So Amazing About Grace,” (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan Publishing House, 1997, p. 45) touches on what makes Christianity different from other world religions.
“During a British conference on comparative religions, experts from around the world debated what, if any, belief was unique to the Christian faith. They began by eliminating possibilities. Incarnation? Other religions had different versions of gods appearing in human form. Resurrection? Again, other religions had accounts of return from death. The debate went on for some time until C.S. Lewis wandered into the room. “What’s the rumpus about?” he asked, and heard in reply that his colleagues were discussing Christianity’s unique contribution among world religions. Lewis responded, “Oh, that’s easy. It’s grace.”
After some discussion, the conferees had to agree. The notion of God’s love coming to us free of charge, no strings attached, seems to go against every instinct of humanity. The Buddhist eight-fold path, the Hindu doctrine of karma, the Jewish covenant, and the Muslim code of law – each of these offers a way to earn approval. Only Christianity dares to make God’s love unconditional.
Aware of our inbuilt resistance to grace, Jesus talked about it often. He described a world suffused with God’s grace: where the sun shines on all people good and bad; where birds gather seeds gratis, neither plowing nor harvesting to earn them; where untended wildflowers burst into bloom on the rocky hillsides. Like a visitor from a foreign country who notices what the natives overlook, Jesus saw grace everywhere.”
The Christmas season offers a “seize the day” opportunity to share with others this unconditional grace that makes Christianity unique ... as Jesus comes to be born for us and save us without our doing, without our earning, even without our asking. That in itself is ample explanation for what makes your Christianity different from other religions.
PRAYER: Dear gracious Savior, let me speak with simple words that share your grace when others ask me what makes Christianity special. I may not know the complexities of religious tenets over the world, but I know your grace by faith. Shine your grace through me to others, as I speak it and live it. Amen.