Being a Hippie Christian isn't how you dress or what you say as much as it is a total lifestyle. To be a Hippie Christian requires an attitude of the heart that grows out of a personal encounter with the living Christ and overflows into your whole life. Jesus taught about peace and love. Jesus chose the outcasts, He loved the unlovely, He reached out to the rejects. Jesus taught about getting back to the Garden, about having a personal relationship with the Creator of the Universe.
If we strip away all of the politics and materialism that has crept into the modern church and go back to First Century Christianity, we will find an interesting parallel between true Christianity and Hippiedom sans the drugs and free love. Rather than reducing Jesus to a long hair Hippie cliche complete with beard and sandals I would prefer to focus on Jesus' message and its relationship to Hippie culture. It is important to note that the banner of peace, love and cosmic connection under which most Hippies gather is at the very heart of Jesus' teachings.
We can find the core of Jesus' teachings in the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew's Gospel chapters 5 through 7. If only these three chapters of Jesus' words had survived the past two millennium, we would have all the truth necessary to live in peace and harmony with both our Creator and our fellow pilgrims here on planet Earth. The Sermon on the Mount is what could be called the Hippie Christian Manifesto. It contains such treasures as The Beatitudes, The Lord's Prayer, The Golden Rule, and Turning the Other Cheek.
But beyond those treasures, beyond the call to avoid hypocrisy, beyond the mandate to shun materialism, beyond the proclamation that peacemakers are God's children, greater than all these we find in the Sermon on the Mount a theme that offers a connection to the Creator of the universe. Jesus does something totally revolutionary and unheard of before His time, He presents God as our Father. Jesus is the consummation of our Hippie quest for not only peace and love, but Jesus also provides the cosmic connection that binds all of us together as Children of The Light.
Going to church does not make you a Christian nor does wearing tie-dye make you a Hippie any more than sitting in a garage changes people into automobiles. Christianity and Hippiedom are both heart things and together they become a lifestyle truer to Jesus' Sermon on the Mount than what modern Christianity offers today.
Being a Hippie Christian is possible, and it is most likely less of a contradiction than being an American Christian. If we all were to follow the truth contained in the Sermon on the Mount there would be less of a distinction between Hippie and Christian.
Some helpful tips for Hippie Christians:
Rap With God Daily (Luke 18:1, John 15:7)
Talk with your Heavenly Father, have an ongoing conversation with him all day long. This isn’t a one-way dialogue with you telling God all of your wants and needs, prayer involves silence too. Take time to listen to what the Father is speaking to your heart, prayer is meant to be a dynamic exchange between you and God.
Meditate on the Bible Daily (Psalm 119:99, Acts 17:11)
The Bible is the most important book you could read. “For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.” (Hebrews 4:12) The Bible tells us how God has revealed himself throughout the ages, it contains the Good News of God’s love for you. I suggest that you start reading the part about Jesus and his early followers in the New Testament - John’s Gospel is a great place to start.
Keep the Faith (Romans 1:17, Hebrews 11:6)
The size of your faith is not important, only that you use whatever amount of faith that you have. Jesus taught that faith the size of a small seed is enough to move mountains. Faith is like a muscle, the more you exercise it, the larger and stronger it becomes.
Trust & Obey God (John 14:21, 1 Peter 5:7)
God cares for you. You can trust that because of his love for you, all that he asks you to do is for your own good or the good of someone else. God does not say “do this” or “don’t do that” just to be mean and controlling. The Father’s love is so great that the things that he wants you to avoid are things that are harmful to you and those around you. The things that he asks you to do are ways that you can be an extension of his love to others.
Hang-Out With Brothers & Sisters Who Believe (Hebrews 10:25)
Next to hanging out with God through prayer and reading the Bible, being around other believers is the most important thing that you could do. The Father wants a relationship with you and for you to be in relationship with your brothers and sister too. This is how you grow and progress on your journey of faith.
Be Baptized (Mark 16:16, Acts 8:12, Galatians 3:27)
Baptism is a symbolic washing away of your old life and being raised up into a new life. It means nothing if you haven’t chosen to follow Jesus, baptism alone cannot give you life, it only is an outward expression of what God has done in your heart.
Receive the Spirit of God to Help You Walk the Walk (Luke 11:13, John 14:26, Acts 1:8)
It is by the Holy Spirit of God that you are empowered to overcome sin and evil, it is how you hear God’s voice.
Kick Down the Good News (Mark 16:15)
Have you ever had something that was so cool that you couldn’t wait to share it with your friends, you wanted to turn them on to it too? Have you ever heard some great news that you couldn’t hold it inside any longer for fear that you would explode, you just had to tell somebody about it? Think about all the stuff that you have turned your friends on to (some good, some maybe not so good) well... that is exactly the same thing that you are to do with the Good News of Jesus Christ. Jesus is the most exciting person you will ever met and you are so in love with him that you will just explode if you don’t tell someone about him.
Be Kind & Love One Another (Matthew 22:36-40, Galatians 6:9-10, 1 John 4:20)
Jesus said the greatest thing you could do is to love God with your whole being and to love those around you. Kind acts are love in motion.
Peace, Love and Light!
Kevin