...about the whole "gay/CFA thing". Here it is:
One of the things that concerns me most about this Chik-Fil-A deal is that we Christians have a tendency to develop an "Us-Against-Them" mentality. As a believer, it is difficult to understand why this became such a media event. Somebody asked a committed Christian business owner about the opposition they have faced because they have supported the traditional family. He didn't bash anyone. He didn
't throw his critics under the bus. He simply stated what his beliefs were, which is a Constitutionally guaranteed right in America.
Suddenly, an interview in the Baptist Press became national news. He, and all Christians with him, are accused of hating gays. It is disorienting. When did disagreement become hatred? We feel accused, misrepresented, and vilified. Someone has twisted our faith into something that it is not.
That is where our danger lies. We are insulted and offended. They have made themselves our enemies. But Jesus predicted it would happen. And He told us how to respond.
"Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy." That is the temptation, isn't it? We Christians are going to band together and fight back against the enemies of the Christian faith. We will oppose them, out-talk them, vote them out, and push them under our feet, and get them in control. Wrong.
"But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you." They may consider themselves our enemies, but we are not their enemies. They are our brothers and sisters that Jesus died for. They may not have accepted Him yet, but He doesn't love them any less than He loves us. He didn't die for them any less than He died for us.
No matter what they say about us, no matter what they do to us, our response should be clear: We love you. We are praying for you. We want to serve and bless you. You think our disagreement means hate. It doesn't. You may consider me your enemy, but I consider you my brother or sister. I want to help you get to the good and free life that Jesus died to give you. But I won't force you or manipulate you, because God could do that and even He won't. He respects your right to choose your path and so I will, too. But I will never stop loving you, serving you, and praying for you.
It is so easy to take on the offense of the world. They believe that either you agree with what they do, or you are their enemy. Then, they will accuse us of it and criticize us for it. But, again, God predicted this would happen. "The world is surprised when you don't join them in wild and reckless living, and so they insult you." (I Pet. 4:4) Peter goes on to say that, at the end of their life, they will face God and have to give an account for their life.
Some things to take away from that: Even God is not judging them, yet. They are not at the end of their story. He is still working with them and for them to bring them to repentance, in the same way He brought us to repentance. We are not saved because we are good. We are saved because we accepted the sacrifice Jesus made. We cannot say we are better than them. We were in the same sinking ship. Jesus has just rescued us from it. But the rescue mission is still going on!
Second: You are not permitted or qualified to inspect the books of Heaven. You don't know why they sin the way they do. You don;t know their story. You had a story. You sinned the way you sinned because of things that people did to you, the way you were raised, the choices that you made that scarred you for life. You still struggle with sins, thoughts, and attitudes because of the life you used to live. So, let God work on them the way He is working on you. Don't be a hindrance to them accepting Jesus. You represent Him. You are the Body of Christ. If you reject sinners, they are goig to think that God rejects them. The same God that sent His Son to die for them. Don't lie on God. He won't like it.
Third: If you rejoice that some "group" of "sinners" is going to be roasted in Hell, you need to get saved. Your heart is not right. God doesn't take any pleasure in the death of the wicked. If you do, you don't have the heart of God. If you don't have the heart of God, you don't get into Heaven. If you are not born from above, get a new heart from God, His heart, you don't get into Heaven, no matter how morally upright you live. Get over your self-righteousness. Jesus never blasted people over sexual sin. He invited them out of that life of bondage into a better life. But He certainly blasted self-righteous Pharisees. In fact, He specifically told the Pharisees that they wouldn't escape Hell because their religious behavior made a barrier to people trying to get to God. (Matt 23)
This country is becoming more and more divided every day. We must not get caught up in the spirit of the age. We must not start considering people who disagree with us morally or politically as "the enemy". The Enemy is the one who is trying to damn souls to Hell. The souls are the ones Jesus came to rescue. Let's be on Jesus' side and not the Devil's.
Suddenly, an interview in the Baptist Press became national news. He, and all Christians with him, are accused of hating gays. It is disorienting. When did disagreement become hatred? We feel accused, misrepresented, and vilified. Someone has twisted our faith into something that it is not.
That is where our danger lies. We are insulted and offended. They have made themselves our enemies. But Jesus predicted it would happen. And He told us how to respond.
"Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy." That is the temptation, isn't it? We Christians are going to band together and fight back against the enemies of the Christian faith. We will oppose them, out-talk them, vote them out, and push them under our feet, and get them in control. Wrong.
"But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you." They may consider themselves our enemies, but we are not their enemies. They are our brothers and sisters that Jesus died for. They may not have accepted Him yet, but He doesn't love them any less than He loves us. He didn't die for them any less than He died for us.
No matter what they say about us, no matter what they do to us, our response should be clear: We love you. We are praying for you. We want to serve and bless you. You think our disagreement means hate. It doesn't. You may consider me your enemy, but I consider you my brother or sister. I want to help you get to the good and free life that Jesus died to give you. But I won't force you or manipulate you, because God could do that and even He won't. He respects your right to choose your path and so I will, too. But I will never stop loving you, serving you, and praying for you.
It is so easy to take on the offense of the world. They believe that either you agree with what they do, or you are their enemy. Then, they will accuse us of it and criticize us for it. But, again, God predicted this would happen. "The world is surprised when you don't join them in wild and reckless living, and so they insult you." (I Pet. 4:4) Peter goes on to say that, at the end of their life, they will face God and have to give an account for their life.
Some things to take away from that: Even God is not judging them, yet. They are not at the end of their story. He is still working with them and for them to bring them to repentance, in the same way He brought us to repentance. We are not saved because we are good. We are saved because we accepted the sacrifice Jesus made. We cannot say we are better than them. We were in the same sinking ship. Jesus has just rescued us from it. But the rescue mission is still going on!
Second: You are not permitted or qualified to inspect the books of Heaven. You don't know why they sin the way they do. You don;t know their story. You had a story. You sinned the way you sinned because of things that people did to you, the way you were raised, the choices that you made that scarred you for life. You still struggle with sins, thoughts, and attitudes because of the life you used to live. So, let God work on them the way He is working on you. Don't be a hindrance to them accepting Jesus. You represent Him. You are the Body of Christ. If you reject sinners, they are goig to think that God rejects them. The same God that sent His Son to die for them. Don't lie on God. He won't like it.
Third: If you rejoice that some "group" of "sinners" is going to be roasted in Hell, you need to get saved. Your heart is not right. God doesn't take any pleasure in the death of the wicked. If you do, you don't have the heart of God. If you don't have the heart of God, you don't get into Heaven. If you are not born from above, get a new heart from God, His heart, you don't get into Heaven, no matter how morally upright you live. Get over your self-righteousness. Jesus never blasted people over sexual sin. He invited them out of that life of bondage into a better life. But He certainly blasted self-righteous Pharisees. In fact, He specifically told the Pharisees that they wouldn't escape Hell because their religious behavior made a barrier to people trying to get to God. (Matt 23)
This country is becoming more and more divided every day. We must not get caught up in the spirit of the age. We must not start considering people who disagree with us morally or politically as "the enemy". The Enemy is the one who is trying to damn souls to Hell. The souls are the ones Jesus came to rescue. Let's be on Jesus' side and not the Devil's.
I wish I could take credit for writing this, but I can't. Mark Mobley posted it on his Facebook wall this morning. Pastor Mark was one of our School of Discipleship instructors. He always gives me a fresh perspective that comes straight from the Lord. You can follow him on twitter here.
As I posted last night, I was hurt by my friend's decision to end our friendship because of my support for Chick-Fil-A. A lot more hurt than I realized I would be. The more I thought about it, the hurt turned into anger. After all, don't all homosexuals preach tolerance? Ending a friendship, even a Facebook friendship, over a difference of opinion isn't very tolerant. Ugh.
Then this morning, Pastor Mark posted this little gem and it put the whole thing back into perspective. He said it better than I ever could.
And now that I've shared it with you, I'm letting it go.
No comments:
Post a Comment