We are called to love

Along with millions of other Americans, we have been watching all of the political convention coverage the last couple weeks. Those who know me know my personal political preferences and beliefs, but I think also know that first and foremost, I have a deep and abiding love for my country - something that goes beyond a political label. I cannot help but cry when our flag is raised and our national anthem is sung, no matter the occasion.

Being married to a veteran who gave much for his country only adds to my strong feelings and convictions. But I truly despise the strife, the sniping, the pettiness, etc that is often shown during election times. I often wonder what can be done to bring true healing to our nation? Perhaps, as my Mother said just yesterday, what this country needs is a week of focused prayer. Not prayer that is "church led" or "government led" but prayer that comes from the individual hearts of our citizens.... prayer for discernment and a true following of God's will, not man's will disguised as God's will.

If you know me, you also know that I have a deep and abiding love for my family. I have written about it several times. It is one of the things that gives me the greatest joy in life. It is also not an accident - it requires work, sometimes a lot of hard work. We are a very diverse family.... among our extended family we cover just about every group, belief, political party, walk of life, etc. In many ways our family mirrors our diverse and varied nation. That is so precious to me! Some have honestly asked me how we manage to remain so close despite our many differences.  It all comes down to love... loving one another as Christ first loved us. Perhaps this is also a mirror to how to heal our nation?

My dear niece, Rachel, is wise beyond her years. When I read this post she made this morning on her own blog, I quickly asked her if I could share it here. She succinctly states what is often in my heart - and she does it much more eloquently than I ever could. Thank you, Rachel, for sharing the thoughts of your heart with us all.

The greatest commandments....

Here's a few verses that really caught my eye today.

"Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them. Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. Live in harmony with one another. Do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly. Never be conceited. Repay no one evil for evil, but give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all. If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all." - Romans 12:9- 18

These verses are so radical. I wonder how different our world would be if the church showed this kind of love, not only to those of their own, but to every person?

I want to first of all make it clear that I don't think the church is doing a horrible job. Christ is the head of the church, and He will be glorified, in spite of (or rather a lot of times because of) our weaknesses. Also, it would be incredibly presumptuous and prideful of me to say that the church as a whole is on the wrong track. That's not what I'm saying. And I truly don't believe it is.

At the same time, when I read the Bible, and when I think about America today in particular, I do see a lot of hypocrisy in the name of Christianity. For one, it seems so contrary to the love we are called to show to "stand up for truth" when standing up for truth means pouring out a message of rejection, condemnation and hate on others.

What I don't mean by this is that we as Christians should deny Truth. God is Truth; denying truth would be denying who He is. I definitely don't mean that we should ignore sin and all that's wrong in the world, and I certainly don't mean that we should hold the relativistic view that truth is what each person makes of it. The Bible is clear that there is absolute Truth, and that sin is sin, no matter what people may deceive themselves or be deceived into thinking it is.

What I do mean is that our first and foremost calling is not to fight for truth, but to love. The greatest commands, according to Jesus, are to love the Lord our God with all our heart, soul and mind, and to love our neighbor as ourself. This love, if it is to be modeled after God’s, should be unconditional, and given to every human being, no matter who they are or what they may have done.

Romans goes on to say:

"Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God... if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink; for by so doing you will heap burning coals on his head. Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good."

It's alright to hate sin, but the Lord is judge over the person, not us. Who are we to stand there and take his place? We need to send a message of love to our “enemies” or those who may have wronged us - not a message of judgment.

That leads me to another thought: It is extremely hard to argue someone to Christ. Very few people, I've heard it said, have ever come to a saving faith in Jesus because they lost a debate and consequently decided that they must have had wrong ideas about life. Yet I think that is to some extent what many Christians feel they have to do - debate, argue; do anything they can to convince others God is there. I have to say, is that truly the best (or most biblical) way to go about it? Wouldn’t unconditional love be a whole lot more convincing than putting people on the defensive?

I think our tendency to argue is related to the fact that it’s easy for us American Christians to already be on the defensive ourselves. We seem to feel like the world is out to get us. I’ve felt this way, too. The extent to which we may be overreacting, I don’t know, but in light of persecution in other countries I’d tend to think we might be, a little bit. But regardless, if the world really is out to get us, it's not the people. According to Ephesians 6, "we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places." Our battle is a spiritual one, against forces of darkness that try to hold everything under their control.

My question is, if the perpetrators of the "war against faith" are not scientists or politicians, why do some Christians feel the need to attack them? Again, is arguing with them going to show them the love of Christ?

Moreover, I have to note that there are issues such as evolution or politics which Christians themselves have many differing opinions on, topics which the Bible may not address clearly. These topics are not the gospel. The gospel is not republican or democrat. The gospel is not about how the earth was formed. The gospel is Jesus Christ. The gospel is salvation. It is love, grace, faith, hope and peace. I think it's sometimes easy for Christians to get so caught up in peripheral issues that become their "cause" rather than the gospel of Christ. I think there's a lot more that can be said about this, but I'll save that rant for another time, lol. :) Anyway, all this to say, we are called to show love, not to debate, condemn, or reject. It is true that we are called to speak the truth in love, but I think that part of love itself is understanding that there is a time to speak and a time to keep silent. When we reach out our hands to dying souls, they will not take it if all we do is tell them how awful their sin makes them. It's true that they do need to understand that something has gone terribly wrong with the world and with their lives and that they have a need for a cure, but our primary message should be the Love that conquers sin and death. God will work in their consciences the more they are around the light, because the light in and of itself exposes the darkness. God loves everyone with an unconditional love; it doesn't matter what they may be struggling with. We are called to love in the same way He did, and that is not for the purpose of "conversion," or for an ulterior motive, but with a genuine love that knows no bounds. “We love because He first loved us.” I firmly believe that there is a profound beauty in every person; after all, we are all created in the image of God. We should all strive to find that beauty in everyone we meet. God loves every person on this planet. Why should we be different? Here’s a practical example of all that I’m trying to say: The Bible says that homosexuality is sin. It is pretty clear on that. However, what makes a person who struggles with that sin less worthy than a person who struggles with pride? And for that matter, what makes a person who occasionally lies more worthy than a person who has murdered someone? According to the Bible, there is no difference. All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. Sin is sin and it’s all equally deserving of death. The only thing that saves us is grace through Jesus Christ.  Isn't it beautiful that there is nothing anyone has done that cannot be covered by God's amazing grace!

Now it’s true that the Bible also says this in 1 Cor. 6:9: "Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God." This isn't talking about people who struggle with sin, because everyone does. This is talking about people who practice these sins with no effort to stop. If, for instance, drunkenness or homosexuality is a person's consistent and accepted way of life, there is clearly a problem, because it's an indication that a person is not truly saved.

All this to say, why is there confusion on how to treat the homosexual community? Like everyone else in the world, they need love. They need to be respected; they need to know that they are special and worth something. If they become a Christian, God will eventually begin to convict them of their sin, and over time it will cease to become their way of life. They will become a new creation, and will find hope and healing and true acceptance there. I do believe that, based on 1 Cor. 6:9 and other verses like it, it's completely reasonable for a church to not let a practicing homosexual become a full-fledged member, if being a member requires commitment to Jesus Christ. However, people from the homosexual community need to be welcomed warmly inside a church. No matter who a person is or what sins they struggle with, everyone needs to know the Love that is beyond anything we could ever dream of, the Love that we are designed to be conduits and participants of.

Jesus calls everyone to Himself; who are we to turn someone away? 

Jesus himself hung out with thieves and prostitutes.

"For God did not send his son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him." - John 3:17 If Jesus did not condemn, neither are we called to condemn. We are all no more than murderers without His grace.

We are called to love.

1 Comment

Kerry

Wow! I am surrounded by the wisest of women...

PEACE

Rachel's proud DaddyO 
Laura's proud Bro'

Sunday, September 7, 2008 - 01:02 PM