By And they will know we are Christians by our… WWJD bracelet? Cross necklace? Christian T-Shirt? Church Attendance? Judgmentalness? Hate?
The church often gets a rap for being judgmental, for being hateful, for being hypocrites. Why is this? When did the church become a place that people are not known to be friendly, loving or kind?
“By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” John 13:35
How is it we have forgotten that they way that people should know we are followers of Christ by our love for one another?
What does it look like to love one another?
Does it look like telling communities that they deserve the tragedies that they have experienced because they are sinners? Absolutely not!
For the last few months I have watched the news feed on my Facebook be filled with people on every side of every major argument. People try and have me say I agree with them but I have not said anything. I have not engaged in debate not because I can’t or am not good at it. I have chosen not to engage because I am good at it, when I decide I am going to debate someone I make my point abundantly clear but you know what, just because intellectually my point makes the most sense does not change the heart of the person.
I know that I have friends that will argue that God hates sin and that is why we should not be friends with people in sin. They will argue that our rules and morals should be enforced on everyone, well the rules we feel are most important right? I know they will tell me and say that a person living the LGBTQ community is in sin and should be told so but then they are living with their boyfriend or girlfriend. They seem to forget that sin is sin and that ALL have sinned and FALL SHORT of the GLORY of God. But you know the funny thing, everyone can recite John 3:16 in the church but the very next verse John 3:17 says something even more profound “For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.” See we forget that it is not about condemning the world but saving it. And even better is this “But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” Romans 5:8
What does this mean? This means how about we start to love people the way Jesus did. treat people with love and you may find a different reaction. I hope I will see less hateful Christians posting and spreading the hate. When we begin to walk in love we will also see a change in ourselves. This is not the end of the discussion but only the beginning.
