save us from your followers
This is a movie that we have seen…twice. it is called Lord, Save Us From Your Followers.
Each time i see it, it reminds me that we are to be LOVE to the world. How else will people around us know that we have the LOVE of God? If we repel people by offending them instead of loving them where they are what will make them want to come to God, who is LOVE.
I think about my story and how i got into church…i was a rebel, i was angry. I smoked, drank and cussed like a sailor. I had no reference for what was wrong or right in church or as a “christian.” No one had told me. It was a make it up as you go situation. But there were people, to whom i am so grateful for, who came alongside me and LOVED me where i was…and for who i was then. They knew that if they could encourage me to get closer to the God of LOVE that the different things in my life would begin to line up with scripture.
Had they have sat me down and attacked me i would have been so turned off…and to be honest i would still be turned off. I sent this tweet on Friday and i stand by it
“Don’t get me wrong I love Gods truth but if you say it in a judging manner and not in love I don’t want to hear it.”
There is a difference in speaking the truth in love and speaking it with judgement. LOVE compels you to improve while judgment causes you to back off and turn away.
So, i have a two part question….and would love your thoughts….
1. Is it christians that are turning people away from God with their actions, words and judgement?
2. As a christian, what could you/we do better?
1. I think that Satan has so calloused some believers into thinking that everyone should act like believers that they have become completely like the Pharisees who dominated Israel when Jesus came. Those are the ones who today will condemn you for your piercings, tattoos, words or actions. Those are the same ones who think "God helps those who help themselves" is in the Bible and only know what their preacher has spouted as truth from his pulpit, thus, they do what they do. Not judging them, but judging their fruit…. it stinketh. (That's KJV, you know.)
2. I've been convicted a lot over the past couple years about this. 1 Peter 3:15 says to be ready to give an answer when people ask about the hope in you. He doesn't say to bust up into their stuff with "You HAVE to listen to me!" I think he was saying that we'll have true hope shining out of us because we spend time with the One Who gives us that hope and that when people see that hope in hopeless circumstances, they will ask about it and we had better be prepared to explain (which really is our story of how Jesus has rescued us and given us a reason to live and hope.)
What can we do better? Be considerate. Realize that people who are lost will act like they're lost. They won't speak our language, they won't think going to church is cool. They won't know love like we do. We've got the greatest gift ever and we want to beat them to death to take it. How stupid is that? The main thing, I think, is we must spend time with Jesus ourselves. If we don't, we can be just as judgmental as the next guy, maybe more so. But if we spend time with our Savior, the one we say we want others to know — we'll look and love more like Him.