I am a Christian. I have Christian friends. I also have Atheist friends. And Gay friends and Lesbian friends and Straight friends and friends of many, many ethnic backgrounds and belief systems; healthy friends, disabled friends, deaf friends, hearing friends, vegan friends, vegetarian friends, paleo friends, McDonalds friends :) Republican friends, Democrat friends, Libertarian friends, kind friends, rude friends, friends that make me proud and friends that seem to thrive on embarrassing me. Friends that I see eye-to-eye with on nearly everything and friends with whom I have only one place of common ground. And I love them. All of my friends. ALL OF MY FRIENDS.
But let me guess, when I described all of my different friends, you had opinions that immediately formed, correct? Some of you even formed an opinion of me. Some of you CHANGED your opinion of me. Why? Because you saw a label. You saw a label and all of your deep-seated beliefs and opinions came to the forefront of your mind. I know, because I do it too. We all do. We all label. We all judge. We do. It's (sadly) just second nature. What's even sadder than that? That we let those labels, those opinions and judgments DETERMINE HOW WE TREAT PEOPLE before we ever get to know them.
For those of you who consider yourselves Christians, I'm gonna call you out here because we SAY we hold ourselves to a different standard. Specifically, what does the Bible say on how we are to treat others?
Matt 7:12 Do to others whatever you would like them to do to you. This is the essence of all that is taught in the law and the prophets.
Matt 7:2 For you will be treated as you treat others. The standard you use in judging is the standard by which you will be judged.
Matt 7:3 And why worry about a speck in your friend's eye when you have a log in your own?
And one of my personal favorites:
1 Cor 13: 1-7
If I could speak all the languages of earth and of angels, but didn't love others, I would only be a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal.
If I had the gift of prophecy, and if I understood all of God's secret plans and possessed all knowledge, and if I had such faith that I could move mountains, but didn't love others, I would be nothing.
If I gave everything I have to the poor and even sacrificed my body, I could boast about it; but if I didn't love others, I would have gained nothing.
Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud
or rude. It does not demand it's own way. It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged.
It does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out.
Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance.
You see friends, I don't care what your beliefs are. I don't care if we agree or not. You can be the most rotten person on the planet...as long as you own up to it, we can be friends. It's called integrity. BE WHO YOU SAY YOU ARE. For my fellow Christians, Christ didn't call us to hate, to name-call, to berate, to turn a cold shoulder, to gossip, to hurt, to offend. He called us simply to LOVE. LOVE your neighbor. LOVE your enemy. And LOVE God with your whole heart. HE and HE ALONE will take care of everything else.
We are to be His ambassadors for the time He has given us on this planet. We are to REPRESENT WHO CHRIST IS. Why do so many people automatically dismiss us or hate us? Because we've screwed up directive #1, and badly! And please understand, I am as guilty of this as the rest of you--so please don't think I view myself as high and mighty here. The truth is, WE WILL REACH NO ONE WITH THE GOSPEL OF GRACE IF WE DON'T HAVE LOVE. I don't care what your platform is, I don't care what your passionate about. If you don't do it in love--you won't get anything accomplished! And, yes I'm gonna say it, you won't do it through denying other people their basic, human rights. You won't.
You wanna discuss concerns you have with someone about their life? GET TO KNOW THEM. You want to share the love of Christ and His story of redemption? BUILD A RELATIONSHIP. We have to stop preaching and start living. We have to love people--in their hurt, in their pain, in their shame, in their guilt, in their triumph, in their goodness, in their success, in their failure, IN THEIR LIFE.
What is it about us that leads us to believe we can tell others what they can and cannot do?! *NEWSFLASH* We ALL need grace. We ALL need mercy. We ALL need love. We are ALL different versions of the same thing--sinners. No one better. No one worse.
I can only hope that in my life, the following is true:
Let it be said...
...that I was gracious.
...that I was merciful.
...that I gave forgiveness.
...that I left the planet in better condition than I found it.
...that I was fully engaged.
...that I had integrity.
...that I gave of myself to help others.
...that I was the best wife, mother, daughter, sister & friend that I could be.
...that I raised my children to believe they can be and do whatever they set their minds to.
...that I was a fully devoted follower of Christ; not of religion, or politics, but Christ.
Let it be said...that I loved.
You see friends, we don't need to preach Christ, we need to show Christ. We don't need to judge, we need to forgive. We don't need to persecute, offend, ridicule and hate. We need to love. LOVE. And leave the rest to a mighty God who, believe it or not, can handle it without us. :) It really is that simple.
Spread the love, friends. Spread the love.
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