I was following my usual routine of procrastinating on my homework and chatting on facebook, when my News Feed reloaded, what I saw as the newest posts started appearing shocked me.
It wasn't anything abnormal, just a picture.
A screen shot actually.
A friend of mine shared a picture from an album of one of her friends:
My. Heart. Broke.
I couldn't help but respond, but even more I wanted to do something to change this, to somehow erase it.
Eradicate it from the internet.
But we all know that is impossible.
The only way to fix this was to touch the heart of someone else who was feeling the same way.
The problem is...
...huge...disheartening...out of control...
...it seems everyone feels the same way.
Even 'Christians'.
Especially
'Christians'.
Why is it that we need more than, "the Bible says so"?
Is the Bible somehow not good enough or incomplete...
Or is it, rather, HOW we present it?
Why did this conversation ever take place?
Because thats what it was.
A conversation.
A real event.
This isn't some fake new 'tag your friends' kind of picture going around the internet.
Someone, somewhere had this conversation.
And someone, somewhere took a screen shot and posted it.
Church, what are we doing?
We wouldn't dream of going to a third world country and preaching that because they don't love their enemy they are sinners going to hell... would we?
We would preach the love, grace, and mercy of Jesus Christ.
Their own consciences would condemn them, not our words.
The Holy Spirit will work in their heart in ways we couldn't fathom.
And we believe that.
Because that is what happens.
That is what works.
Those are the types of stories we hear from the mission field.
That is what Paul did in his first recorded sermon found in Acts 13.
From Perga they went on to Pisidian Antioch. On the Sabbath they entered the synagogue and sat down. After the reading from the Law and the Prophets, the leaders of the synagogue sent word to them, saying, “Brothers, if you have a word of exhortation for the people, please speak.”
Standing up, Paul motioned with his hand and said: “Fellow Israelites and you Gentiles who worship God, listen to me! The God of the people of Israel chose our ancestors; he made the people prosper during their stay in Egypt; with mighty power he led them out of that country; for about forty years he endured their conduct in the wilderness; and he overthrew seven nations in Canaan, giving their land to his people as their inheritance. All this took about 450 years.
“After this, God gave them judges until the time of Samuel the prophet. Then the people asked for a king, and he gave them Saul son of Kish, of the tribe of Benjamin, who ruled forty years. After removing Saul, he made David their king. God testified concerning him: ‘I have found David son of Jesse, a man after my own heart; he will do everything I want him to do.’ “From this man’s descendants God has brought to Israel the Savior Jesus, as he promised. Before the coming of Jesus, John preached repentance and baptism to all the people of Israel. As John was completing his work, he said: ‘Who do you suppose I am? I am not the one you are looking for. But there is one coming after me whose sandals I am not worthy to untie.’
“Fellow children of Abraham and you God-fearing Gentiles, it is to us that this message of salvation has been sent. The people of Jerusalem and their rulers did not recognize Jesus, yet in condemning him they fulfilled the words of the prophets that are read every Sabbath. Though they found no proper ground for a death sentence, they asked Pilate to have him executed. When they had carried out all that was written about him, they took him down from the cross and laid him in a tomb. But God raised him from the dead, and for many days he was seen by those who had traveled with him from Galilee to Jerusalem. They are now his witnesses to our people.
“We tell you the good news: What God promised our ancestors he has fulfilled for us, their children, by raising up Jesus. As it is written in the second Psalm:
“‘You are my son;
today I have become your father.’
God raised him from the dead so that he will never be subject to decay. As God has said,
“‘I will give you the holy and sure blessings promised to David.’
So it is also stated elsewhere:
“‘You will not let your holy one see decay.’
“Now when David had served God’s purpose in his own generation, he fell asleep; he was buried with his ancestors and his body decayed. But the one whom God raised from the dead did not see decay.
“Therefore, my friends, I want you to know that through Jesus the forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you. Through him everyone who believes is set free from every sin, a justification you were not able to obtain under the law of Moses. Take care that what the prophets have said does not happen to you:
“‘Look, you scoffers,
wonder and perish,
for I am going to do something in your days
that you would never believe,
even if someone told you.’”
As Paul and Barnabas were leaving the synagogue, the people invited them to speak further about these things on the next Sabbath. When the congregation was dismissed, many of the Jews and devout converts to Judaism followed Paul and Barnabas, who talked with them and urged them to continue in the grace of God.
On the next Sabbath almost the whole city gathered to hear the word of the Lord.
He spoke of the forgiveness of Jesus, not His wrath.
Peter did the same.
So why... do we reverse this when we 'aren't on the mission field'?
"Homosexuality is a sin...and it is in Black and White in the Bible."
It doesn't matter if Homosexuality is a sin.
So is not loving your neighbor, so is not loving your enemy.
Are we innocent?
No.
Why are we being so judgmental, so opposite of Christ?
And why is it that we elevate one sin over another?
Why is it that we don't have an accurate view and picture of the story and reason of the Bible?
Why, if we are Christians filled with Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Goodness, Gentleness, Faithfulness, and self control, does THIS exist?
"Do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you." -Matthew 7:1-2
When are we going to start taking these words of Jesus seriously?
The sad thing is that the response in that conversation was filled with all very correct statements.
Those who believe in the Bible should be able to answer as well, if not better, than 'Lacey' did.
It starts by reading the Bible in context and purpose.
We live under the New Testament, but the Old Testament is the story of how we got here.
And...
The story of what was is just as, if not MORE important than what is now.
The Old Testament has a bunch of ridiculous prohibitions, I won't try to defend them. In our eyes, in this culture, those rules are ridiculous.
And there is so much freedom in being able to admit that.
However, in those times these rules were necessary prohibitions due to health and keeping diseases at a bare minimum. They are mostly health regulations, for a people who did not understand or have the capacity to understand how disease spreads, what a germ is, or how to act civilized in the company of others.
Remember, these people have been slaves, treated as less than human, for hundreds of years.
Would YOU expect them to be able to function as a civilization... alone... in the desert... for forty years?
Hence the need for Divine intervention.
And the result are these rules from God that they did not understand.
But out of faith, they kept.
For the most part anyway.
And the other rules that fall under the umbrella of the Ten Commandments are God's demands for Holiness, for morality, for community, for equality and love for people.
He desired a nation that would be set apart and be a light, an image of the invisible yet powerful God of Creation to the Gentile nations around them.
An example of how things should be.
Christians need to stop acting like a judge and start living the way Christ lived, he didn't condemn those who were living in sin, he forgave them and showed them why He is the way to a better more fulfilled life.
Such as the Samaritan woman at the well found in John 4, Zacchaeus the rich, greedy tax collector found in Luke 19, and of course the woman caught in adultery we can read about in John 8.
What would happen if we treated Homosexuals like Jesus treated those people?
Because here's the reality...
...it doesn't end with homosexuals for the 'Christian' community.
Because we judge people, mock people, and try to suppress people based on: race, color, family background, appearance, politics, denomination, language, heritage, money, and even what kind of coffee people drink.
What happened to: "God so loved THE WORLD"?
What would happen if we treated all sinners, including us, ABSOLUTELY including us, like Jesus treated 'the sinners' in his day?
We would finally stop being Pharisees.
We would become Disciples.
Isn't that what God calls us to through Christ?
Not everyone believes Jesus, not everyone has the faith to, not everyone is willing to or sees a reason to... but to those who do, we should stop acting as if we are 'holier than thou' and start caring more and more about the people without Christ.
Christians are the most messed up people on Earth, which is why I depend upon the grace of God in every waking moment.
I need a Savior.
And I'm very sorry for the way I previously acted, the way I used to look down upon others, the way I'm sure I will look down upon others even in the future... it's just evidence that I'm more corrupt, even more immoral than 'the sinners'.
I won't run from that.
I'll admit it.
Jesus ushered in a way of redemption for the worst of sinners, of which I am a part, and it is only by the grace of God that I am made new.
We need to focus on Jesus, not judgment.
But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved. And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus. For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. -Ephesians 2:4-10
