Will They Know You Are Christian?

So I'm wondering about how we show our Christianity to the world without blasting their eardrums out of their heads. I read something the other day that said the song, "And They'll Know We Are Christians By Our Love," was too successful. That people started using that to sing around campfires instead of Kumbaya. So many people used it that it became trite and people made fun of its relevance.

I also remember reading the Harry Potter books and the one thing that worked for Harry above all others was Love. His ability to love, which the evil Lord Voldemort was unable to do. Maybe there's something to that, then. That love is the answer, no matter what the question. Jesus gave us instructions to love our neighbors as ourselves. Not the smushy, gooey love, but the real honest to goodness, caring about how you are thing. Are we too self-absorbed these days to do that? I don't know, honestly. I sometimes don't like myself enough to even think of the other guy. If I can't love myself, what does that say about the ability to care for another.

But see the whole love thing is complicated by the "I'm-the-one-doing-the-loving" idea. And I think this is where most of the idea that Jesus was trying to impart falls through. See, I think the love we are to have for ourselves and our neighbor is given to us from God. It isn't something I do. It is something done for me, with me, but not by me. It is not ME doing the loving, it's God's love coming through me. I'm the conduit, not the generator (if I can use those electric terms). And so if it's not generated by me, then I can simply ask God to work through me and BINGO I'm not responsible for holding back, or deciding who gets it and who doesn't. If I let go and let God as the old saying goes, then anything is possible, even loving the neighbor, Lord Voldemort, or the neighbor who blows leaves during the dinner hour. Because God is doing the loving not me, I can be the person, or conduit that I am meant to be. I got thinking about an old saying and it's this:

The love in your heart
Wasn't put there to stay
Love isn't love 'til
You give it away.

And that pretty much sums up what it means to be a Christian, I think.