Ever had a metaphorical slap in the face? I can't begin to tell you how many I've had. Right when I begin to think that God has nothing left to show me, it usually happens. Today was no exception.
As always, I worked. Not an uncommon day for me by any stretch of the imagination. I was up at the register ringing up customers, and I look up to see a homeless guy standing in line. To be perfectly honest, I immediately groaned inside. It's hard to know what to expect in these situations. When he walked up, I could smell what was definitely cigarette smoke. The evil judge in me was going crazy. Then, he put a paperback Bible on the counter, followed by a couple dollars that I later found out one of our associates had given him. A little surprised, I began to ring him up. As I did, he began to talk endlessly. Amazingly, he was quoting Bible verses. I'm not talking about your typical Sunday School Bible verses. I'm talking about whole passages, putting many pastors to shame. As I stared at him in disbelief, his smiling face suddenly got really serious. Leaning forward a bit, he said, "Are you a Christian?" A little caught off guard, I told him I was. While I expected him to leave it at that, he then asked me, "What's your testimony?" This put me to shame. How often do we simply take someone who says they're a Christian at their word and not ask them for their testimony? I told him about how I was saved when I was 16, and how my life has radically changed since. He congratulated me with a big smile, and proceeded to tell me his. I honestly only understood a fraction of what he was saying, but I did hear him mention how even through his terrible situation, God is still good.
Wow . . .
Here I was judging a man who was going through a painful time, and here God was using the situation to show me where I was dead wrong. While I looked at him and judged, God looked and saw His child. God loves the unloved. Here I was, refusing to reach out to this man, and he comes up and reaches out to me, genuinely concerned for my soul. There's not much left to say. I'm humbled.
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Friday, June 22, 2012
Friday, June 8, 2012
Love Draws Us
Go to Hell.
There, do I have your attention? As profane as that phrase is, I feel it is communicated by far too many people today. The sad part? Most of these people are Christians.
When I’m bored, I’m usually on a YouTube video spree. A while back, I ended up on the “weird part” of YouTube. For those of you who also frequent the website, you probably know what I’m talking about. For those who don’t, you might be better off. Anyway, I ended up watching a ten minute Marilyn Manson interview. The singer’s made quite a name for himself, but to those in the dark, he’s a gothic metal singer who is known for his profane lyrics, graphic imagery and association with the Church of Satan. In short, he’s probably not an artist parents are scrambling to pick up for their kids. Throughout the years, he has caught the attention of countless Christian groups, and his concerts are protested at on a regular basis. He’s been scorned, ridiculed and downright hated by large mobs of Christians. In the interview I watched, he was asked about what he thought of the people who do this. His response was as follows: “The most ironic thing that these people always fail to realize is that the lack of hospitality that they greet someone like me with is just very unchristian, and I think that’s the biggest paradox of all.”
Do I agree with what Manson stands for? Absolutely not. Do I agree with this statement? I absolutely do. Whenever an extremely sinful person steps into a spotlight where they can be seen by Christians, I worry. In fact, the first thought that goes through my mind is that there is a good chance they will never come to Christ. In most situations, I’ll see two groups of people. I’ll see the people who just run away and I’ll see the people who immediately try to smack them with a Bible. The group I almost never see are the ones who come up, introduce themselves and take time to love on them and get to know them. As it is, they come away thinking that God hates them even more than they already did. No one wants anything to do with a religion that hates their very existence. We’ve gotten to a point in our lives where we like to put ourselves on a pedestal and make everyone else feel smaller than us. Did the Christian community forget where they were before they were saved? Did they forget where they could be without Christ? Jesus certainly wanted His disciples to remember. In John 15:5, He told them “Without Me, you can do nothing.” With Christ out of our lives, we’re nothing. We’re sinners wandering the Earth with no purpose.
I never thought I’d write an entire blog about a Marilyn Manson post, but I feel like these things needed to be said. I would normally spend time giving solutions to the issues I discuss, but I don’t think much discussion is necessary here. It’s pretty cut and dry. Do what has been modeled all through Scripture and love other people. They might be people like you, and they might not be. You might feel comfortable around them, or you might feel completely awkward. If Jesus was able to go into sinners houses to eat, you can give a little effort to walking up to someone and talking to them for a few minutes. Forgiveness was bought for us by the love of Christ. If that love is not communicated to the world, there is no Gospel.
There, do I have your attention? As profane as that phrase is, I feel it is communicated by far too many people today. The sad part? Most of these people are Christians.
When I’m bored, I’m usually on a YouTube video spree. A while back, I ended up on the “weird part” of YouTube. For those of you who also frequent the website, you probably know what I’m talking about. For those who don’t, you might be better off. Anyway, I ended up watching a ten minute Marilyn Manson interview. The singer’s made quite a name for himself, but to those in the dark, he’s a gothic metal singer who is known for his profane lyrics, graphic imagery and association with the Church of Satan. In short, he’s probably not an artist parents are scrambling to pick up for their kids. Throughout the years, he has caught the attention of countless Christian groups, and his concerts are protested at on a regular basis. He’s been scorned, ridiculed and downright hated by large mobs of Christians. In the interview I watched, he was asked about what he thought of the people who do this. His response was as follows: “The most ironic thing that these people always fail to realize is that the lack of hospitality that they greet someone like me with is just very unchristian, and I think that’s the biggest paradox of all.”
Do I agree with what Manson stands for? Absolutely not. Do I agree with this statement? I absolutely do. Whenever an extremely sinful person steps into a spotlight where they can be seen by Christians, I worry. In fact, the first thought that goes through my mind is that there is a good chance they will never come to Christ. In most situations, I’ll see two groups of people. I’ll see the people who just run away and I’ll see the people who immediately try to smack them with a Bible. The group I almost never see are the ones who come up, introduce themselves and take time to love on them and get to know them. As it is, they come away thinking that God hates them even more than they already did. No one wants anything to do with a religion that hates their very existence. We’ve gotten to a point in our lives where we like to put ourselves on a pedestal and make everyone else feel smaller than us. Did the Christian community forget where they were before they were saved? Did they forget where they could be without Christ? Jesus certainly wanted His disciples to remember. In John 15:5, He told them “Without Me, you can do nothing.” With Christ out of our lives, we’re nothing. We’re sinners wandering the Earth with no purpose.
I never thought I’d write an entire blog about a Marilyn Manson post, but I feel like these things needed to be said. I would normally spend time giving solutions to the issues I discuss, but I don’t think much discussion is necessary here. It’s pretty cut and dry. Do what has been modeled all through Scripture and love other people. They might be people like you, and they might not be. You might feel comfortable around them, or you might feel completely awkward. If Jesus was able to go into sinners houses to eat, you can give a little effort to walking up to someone and talking to them for a few minutes. Forgiveness was bought for us by the love of Christ. If that love is not communicated to the world, there is no Gospel.
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