My goal is to speak the truth in love. There are a lot of people speaking the truth with no love, and there are a lot of people talking about love without much truth.
Shane ClaiborneRead
I am sorry that so often the biggest obstacle to God has been Christians. Christians who have had so much to say with our mouths and so little to show with our lives. I am sorry that so often we have forgotten the Christ of our Christianity.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote criticizes Christians for not embodying the teachings of Christ in their actions.
Shane Claiborne's quote brings to light a common contradiction within Christianity, where believers often preach about their faith but fail to live up to its principles through their actions. He expresses regret that, at times, Christians themselves become the greatest hindrance to understanding God, as their behavior does not reflect the love and compassion that Christ exemplified, thus forgetting the core tenets of their faith.
Themes
ChristianityFaithActionsLoveHypocrisy
In practice
Example use cases
This quote can be used in a sermon to encourage congregants to reflect on their actions.
More from Shane Claiborne
All quotes →Maybe we are a little crazy. After all, we believe in things we don't see. The Scriptures say that faith is "being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see" (Heb. 11:1). We believe poverty can end even though it is all around us. We believe in peace even though we hear only rumours of wars. And since we are people of expectation, we are so convinced that another world is coming that we start living as if it were already here.
Shane ClaiborneRead
Christianity is at its best when it is peculiar, marginalized, suffering, and it is at its worst when it is popular, credible, triumphal, and powerful.
Shane ClaiborneRead
So even as we see the horror of death, may we be reminded that in the end, love wins. Mercy triumphs. Life is more powerful than death. And even those who have committed great violence can have the image of God come to life again within them as they hear the whisper of love. May the whisper of love grow louder than the thunder of violence. May we love loudly.
Shane ClaiborneRead
God's people are not to accumulate stuff for tomorrow but to share indiscriminately with the scandalous and holy confidence that God will provide for tomorrow. Then we need not stockpile stuff in barns or a 401(k), especially when there is someone in need.
Shane ClaiborneRead
I had come to see that the great tragedy in the church is not that rich Christians do not care about the poor but that rich Christians do not know the poor...I truly believe that when the rich meet the poor, riches will have no meaning. And when the rich meet the poor, we will see poverty come to an end.
Shane ClaiborneRead
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