I remember in elementary school, I attended a program at my church called AWANA. If you've gone to a church as a child, you may be familiar with it. Anyway.
There was this kid who would sometimes go, and he was in my grade in school. To be honest, I disliked him. He was loud, rude, inappropriate, and was of the "angry, I-hate-authority" sort. (Now, I've gotten to know him a bit better, and sometimes he's kind of nice.) He told me he only went for the games.
Frankly, I was upset that he came. My thoughts were- "He shouldn't be allowed to come just for the games! He doesn't belong here!"
"He doesn't belong here."
I am very ashamed of myself for having thought that.
People who "don't belong" are exactly the people that need to belong the most. And we Christians as a whole are not doing a good job of accepting people. We've gotten to the point where we think we can turn people away from God because we think "oh, He won't want that sort. They don't deserve it. They're going to hell." What, so now we think that we can make God's decisions for Him? Let me tell you something that'll blow your mind-
You are a sinner. You are no better than anyone else.
Sin is all the same in God's eyes. You're a sinner. I'm a sinner. We all deserve death. It says in Romans 6:23- "For the wages of sin is death." Not some sins. Not that specific sin. Sin. Death.
But guess what? Jesus also died for everyone, to cover everyone's sins with his perfection. Not some people. Not that specific person. Everyone.
Even that kid that showed up to AWANA for the games. And I didn't show him God's love. I showed him humanity's hate. That's where our problem lies. We aren't showing God's love by telling people they're going to hell and they're unnatural and they have to change and they don't belong. None of us truly belong. That's the beauty of life- we don't belong, but we're here because of a love so great that even sinners get into heaven.
Picket lines and protests aren't love. Fear and persecution aren't love. (However, letting people get away with anything they want isn't love either.) True love is explained in 1 Corinthians 13. I recommend you check it out.
Those people who "hate God" (and yes, Christians, open your eyes to the fact that people hate God.) actually hate Christians. They were hurt by people who swung the sword without knowing what the fight was for. Now they think that's what Jesus means- judgement, hostility, and fear. That's the exact opposite of what we should be preaching. We need to spread love, redemption, freedom. Break out of your boxes, people. There's a whole world out there.
As Casting Crowns said- "Nobody knows what we're for, only what we're against when we judge the wounded. What if we put down our signs, crossed over the lines, and love like You did?"
What kind of world would we live in if we put down our protest signs, put down our hatred, and spread God's love?
I hope to see that happen one day.
There was this kid who would sometimes go, and he was in my grade in school. To be honest, I disliked him. He was loud, rude, inappropriate, and was of the "angry, I-hate-authority" sort. (Now, I've gotten to know him a bit better, and sometimes he's kind of nice.) He told me he only went for the games.
Frankly, I was upset that he came. My thoughts were- "He shouldn't be allowed to come just for the games! He doesn't belong here!"
"He doesn't belong here."
I am very ashamed of myself for having thought that.
People who "don't belong" are exactly the people that need to belong the most. And we Christians as a whole are not doing a good job of accepting people. We've gotten to the point where we think we can turn people away from God because we think "oh, He won't want that sort. They don't deserve it. They're going to hell." What, so now we think that we can make God's decisions for Him? Let me tell you something that'll blow your mind-
You are a sinner. You are no better than anyone else.
Sin is all the same in God's eyes. You're a sinner. I'm a sinner. We all deserve death. It says in Romans 6:23- "For the wages of sin is death." Not some sins. Not that specific sin. Sin. Death.
But guess what? Jesus also died for everyone, to cover everyone's sins with his perfection. Not some people. Not that specific person. Everyone.
Even that kid that showed up to AWANA for the games. And I didn't show him God's love. I showed him humanity's hate. That's where our problem lies. We aren't showing God's love by telling people they're going to hell and they're unnatural and they have to change and they don't belong. None of us truly belong. That's the beauty of life- we don't belong, but we're here because of a love so great that even sinners get into heaven.
Picket lines and protests aren't love. Fear and persecution aren't love. (However, letting people get away with anything they want isn't love either.) True love is explained in 1 Corinthians 13. I recommend you check it out.
Those people who "hate God" (and yes, Christians, open your eyes to the fact that people hate God.) actually hate Christians. They were hurt by people who swung the sword without knowing what the fight was for. Now they think that's what Jesus means- judgement, hostility, and fear. That's the exact opposite of what we should be preaching. We need to spread love, redemption, freedom. Break out of your boxes, people. There's a whole world out there.
As Casting Crowns said- "Nobody knows what we're for, only what we're against when we judge the wounded. What if we put down our signs, crossed over the lines, and love like You did?"
What kind of world would we live in if we put down our protest signs, put down our hatred, and spread God's love?
I hope to see that happen one day.
