Do you ever read something in Scripture and say: "We are going to have some explaining to do."?
Before I jump into the meat of this argument, I must acknowledge the fact that there are plenty of racist people who call themselves Christians and are members of some of our churches. That may go without saying, but I felt that it needed to be said. We still tend to fellowship with those who are like us. At least this is true in our rural areas that are full of smaller congregations. We still gather with our own race, our own culture, and sometimes even our own kin. I'm not saying that this is wrong. It's just a culture fact. But what I'm talking about goes much deeper than our comfort zones. We have discovered a way to divide that goes deeper to the heart. A division that is more of a choice than an ignorant bias.
The division that I'm referring to has to do with whom we choose to exclude. Which rarely, if ever, has to do with genetics. Instead, it has to do with belonging to a particular way of thinking. Believing the same thing on every issue. Where our churches are full of the same political leanings, agreements on every social issues, and could even come down to sharing the same family values. Where is the intellectual diversity in our churches? How often do we hear of varying opinions on theology? When did we become so scared of those who think differently, or have a different interpretation of certain biblical passages? And God forbid that there may actually be a democrat among us! We have lost the ability to be challenged in a healthy manner. We have excluded so many people who think differently than we do. To the point that we sound like Peter when he first received the vision on the rooftop. We have believed that we are more righteous because we will not accept that which is unclean.
The unclean could be anything. It could be those who do not hold to our views. It could be those who don't approach Christianity the same way. The unclean may be those who just sin differently than we do. I mean...we don't want to admit it but our churches have chosen to overlook some things over others. Don't believe me? Just dare to have a different stance on marriage. Dare to think differently about homosexuality. Dare to voice an opinion that differs on people living together before marriage, having children out of wedlock, drinking, or using profanity. I'm always amazed by what causes us to turn our backs on brothers and sisters in Christ. Or how we come down so hard on the alcoholic but not the glutton. How we openly criticize the one who doesn't tithe but don't say anything about the one who brings in money from an underhanded deal in the business world. We pick and choose our battles based upon our own ideals. The things that we believe are important.
Let me give you a few scenarios. You have a choice. You have to choose who regularly attends you church.
*The heterosexual couple who lives together as if they are married OR the homosexual couple that is abstinent but dating?
*The single mom who has 3 children from 3 different fathers OR the married couple who has been divorced and remarried 3 times?
*Would you rather have a drunk addict, a drug addict, OR a porn addict?
*The person who has a prior conviction of rape, indecent liberties with a minor, OR murder?
*A gang member, a member of KKK, OR a member of an LGBT group?
We could do this all day. In fact, we do. There are certain people that we have labeled UNCLEAN without ever seeing them through the eyes of revelation. We have forgotten that God doesn't see us differently because we sin differently.
Let's take the discussion to a different level. Same scenario. You have to choose.
*The one who believes it is God's will to heal everyone OR the one who believes all disease/sickness is from God?
*The one who believes that God loves everyone OR the one who believes that God hates everyone?
*The one who believes everyone is going to Heaven OR the one who believes everyone is going to hell?
*The one who believes everything in the Bible is literal OR the one who believes that everything is metaphorical?
*The one who believes in a literal heaven/metaphorical hell OR the one who believes in a literal hell/metaphorical heaven?
Did you make your choice? Was it difficult? Which one would you include in your group? Or better yet, which one would you exclude?
I am not here to tell you what to think. I'm not here to lift up one group over the other. To be honest with you, when I look at these choices what I see so clearly is my own prejudice. I see my own convictions being brought to the forefront of my thinking. And in some cases I don't like it. But we make these choices every day. We choose which "sinner" we are most comfortable with and we choose which person thinks more like we think. Even more important to our discussion is whether or not we could choose one and still love the other? Could we choose one and still call the other clean? Who are the unclean among us? Who are we choosing not to receive because we dare not associate ourselves with such people? Ever wonder why Paul felt that he needed to say that he was not ashamed of the Gospel? Personally I believe it's because the Gospel is very offensive. It's not offensive because of who it excludes. The Gospel is offensive because of who it INCLUDES!
Hear the words of the Apostle Paul in Colossians 3:11, "In this new life, it doesn't matter if you are a Jew or a Gentile, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbaric, uncivilized, slave, or free. Christ is all that matters, and He lives in all of us." I think it's high time we stopped calling unclean what the Father has called clean. There is nothing and no one common in the Lord's economy. If we will step our of our Pharisaical ways of thinking, we still stop calling out the unclean among us. We will stop dividing over so many issues. We can enlarge our family. We can begin to walk in love with one another. Something that the world desperately needs to see from us.
Enjoy the journey!
No comments:
Post a Comment