Monday, February 17, 2014

What you must think of us

Dear non-believer (and you know who you are)...

Oh, what you  must think of us, those of us who try to follow the teachings, the life, the death and the resurrection of this man who was called Jesus..
 
On Friday the Westboro Baptist Church made a stink about Missouri football player Michael Sam who came out as a gay person last week. More than 2000 Missouri students stood up for Sam in a "wall of love." I commend the effort by the students, though I do wonder if they would have been so rambunctional if Sam was a tuba player instead of the SEC co-defensive player of the year. He should, by the way, be judged only on how he plays the game, and anyone thinking otherwise if a bassoom or buffoon.
 
A Kentucky pastor who starred in a reality show about snake-handling in church has died -- of a snakebite. Jamie Coots died Saturday evening after refusing to be treated, Middleborough police said.
On "Snake Salvation," the ardent Pentecostal believer said that he believed that a passage in the Bible suggests poisonous snakebites will not harm believers as long as they are anointed by God. The practice is illegal in most states, but still goes on, primarily in the rural South. Coots was a third-generation "serpent handler" and aspired to one day pass the practice and his church, Full Gospel Tabernacle in Jesus Name, on to his adult son, Little Cody." Guess he did, earlier than he expected. Show like this on television, along with preacher's daughter or whatever that is, certainly doesn't help those lost and least find Christ. I admit I haven't seen either, in full disclosure.
 
My point is this: At this point, you've decided we're crazy, and there are times when the ruckus over certain subjects get out of hand, and although I accept that as both an occupational hazard and a pretty fair assessment of my mental state, what I don't want to have happening is some fringe groups seemingly to speak for all Christians. If you think we're all like the above, you're simply not paying attention. If you think Wesboro and Chick Fil A are the same bunch of folks, you're wrong. Some folks really do love the sinner and hate the sin. Some don't. We're no more the same than all non-believers are. There are some really good non-believers. I know many.
 
Most of my Christian friends, and those are not large numbers because my friends are spread among former co-workers, former neighbors and all the normal manner of establishing friends, have never protested anything, and they give more money for the homeless and helpless and the hungry than you perhaps will ever do.
 
And as far as I know, none of them -- most assuredly including me -- don't want to consider handling poisonous snakes as any test of faith, lest we fail before the box is open.
 
If you really think about it, taking your own prejuidice out of the equation, you know what  most us think of Westboro.
 
Most of us want to talk through our problems. Most of us want the best for each of us, in terms of what Jesus would want for us. We believe he came, he carried our sins (and yours, by the way), and saved us all.
 
We, you, I, all of us, nailed him to a tree for it.
 
He did so not that we could rewrite the Word of God to fit our own ideas of what sin is (and again, I admit doing this), but he died so that he could free us forever, justify us immediately and sanctify us for the rest of our lives.
 
That's the message I dearly wished we could give you, show you, get our of our churches and let you know.
 
 What I am seeing, though, is a thickening cloud on Facebook and other social media among friends I've had forever who are apparently not Christians who continually are judging all Bible-believers by their Bible covers.
 
Here's the deal: I was once was lost, and I believe I was found. I also believe that I have the answer for you. But just as God doesn't make you accept that, neither do I. I believe certain things that perhaps you will never believe. That's okay, too. I believe differently than you do, but whether you choose to believe this or not, I'm neither stupid nor ignorant. I have a high IQ, and I follow a man whose IQ must have been off the charts -- him being, well, you know God and everything.
 
Let's pause in our battle to understand just what he said. He told us to love God with all our heart, mind, and spirit, and our neighbor as ourselves. He left it there.
 
The rest of this is just a battle to be right. I'm just as intrigued as you about what scripture says about homosexuality, and abortion, and murder, and, works, and grace, and faith, and resurrection, and virgin birth and suns stopping in the sky and creation and such.
 
The only difference, and I'll let you go on this, is by the grace of God somehow a switch flipped and I understood how close to extinction I was and who could save me.
 
If that was you, wouldn't you want to tell me about that? Wouldn't you want to spend eternity with me? How can I do differently?
 
You tell me. If you're right and there's no God and all our battling has been for naught, who is hurt? If I'm right and God is watching so intently, just waiting for his children to return to him and crying when they don't, and eternity away from him is the answer, think of the hurt you'll face.
 
That's it for now. Goodnight snakes. Goodnight Westboro.
 
Good night, neighbor. I still love you.
 
 
 
 

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