So often we forget that the Gospel's foundation is relationship. Even if we understand that fact, we go about our relating in such a righteous manner that the entire purpose of interaction is lost.
The foundation to relationship is understanding and
accepting the other person. When you make friends, you do not brush people off,
telling them to come back to you once they attain perfection. Instead, you
interact with them at their level; knowing them is your highest goal. Only once
you have relational trust can you begin
to work through the personal flaws, yours especially.
We cannot continue to disown souls merely because they fail to agree with us.
We need to realize that friendship is not an endorsement of that person's mistakes [nor is their friendship a conciliation to your shortcomings either], but it is instead the first step in beginning to pour out love upon someone. Love is patient, love is kind, love keeps no record of wrongs.
We cannot continue to disown souls merely because they fail to agree with us.
We need to realize that friendship is not an endorsement of that person's mistakes [nor is their friendship a conciliation to your shortcomings either], but it is instead the first step in beginning to pour out love upon someone. Love is patient, love is kind, love keeps no record of wrongs.
When
we throw out the cliché that Christ was "counter-culture," and so we
must be the same, I believe we forget what culture he was counter to. Christ
did not come to be religiously conceited, joining the religious leaders in
their holy, pontificating disapproval, shunning
the lowlifes who pursued their own lifestyles. It was these lowlifes
that Christ made his friends and eventually followers and closest
disciples. Never once did he endorse
their mistakes nor approve of their misguided living, yet he stoutly defended
them from the religious and social furor so often directed at "the
sinners." What an example of love we
miss in the actions of Christ! In the end, it was nothing he ordered
them to do or convicted them of that persuaded them of his offered salvation -
it was instead his constant service and willingness to sacrifice that brought
them to his side. No man hath greater love than this that he lay down his life
for his friends.
His friends were the least of these.
His friends were the least of these.
So
what am I driving at? My question is, why we are more likely to invite someone
from a bar to church than to let an open homosexual in at the door? Where do we
derive the right to befriend or maintain fellowship with someone who cheated on
their spouse or involved with pornography, yet deny a gay or lesbian any
semblance of relationship? What have we
done to attempt to find common ground with those whom with we disagree? Or have
we forgotten that those faces belong to
people too?
We
seem to have this notion that loving a person requires overlooking their wrong.
And so, homosexuality and other sins remain unlovable because they appear so
offensive. But loving a person is more than ignoring their flaws; it is
accepting a person despite them. If we are to even approach culture, we must
live with this sort of love.
We cannot hope to persuade the world otherwise unless the world trusts us first. As it stands, the Church is not seen as trustworthy. Instead, it is viewed as a homophobic, anti-progressive, conservative base rife with stereotypes and fried chicken. Is this what is true? Yes, we differ from popular opinion and disagree with much of secular thought; however, we have allowed our disagreements to widen the already existing rift between the Church and the Culture. We have forgotten that a similar rift - the eternal separation between God and humanity - was bridged through the love of one man, Christ. Let us minister with that self-same love and bridge this modern, ever widening gap. Let us offer more to culture than a repeated condemnation. Let us work to find common ground upon which to build relationships.
We cannot hope to persuade the world otherwise unless the world trusts us first. As it stands, the Church is not seen as trustworthy. Instead, it is viewed as a homophobic, anti-progressive, conservative base rife with stereotypes and fried chicken. Is this what is true? Yes, we differ from popular opinion and disagree with much of secular thought; however, we have allowed our disagreements to widen the already existing rift between the Church and the Culture. We have forgotten that a similar rift - the eternal separation between God and humanity - was bridged through the love of one man, Christ. Let us minister with that self-same love and bridge this modern, ever widening gap. Let us offer more to culture than a repeated condemnation. Let us work to find common ground upon which to build relationships.
My
brother and I have had our disagreements over the years. I was more often than
not the overbearing, self-righteous firstborn, burdened with the maintenance of
holiness and personal image. I saw him as the wayward sibling with whom I had
been tasked to bring back to the sheepfold. For every flaw he counted in me, I
would count twice as many in him, and remind him to boot. And so, we tolerated each other,
suspiciously watching the other's action, each convinced the other was wrong.
In all those years, we had little affect in our attempts to conform the other
to our standards.
The
day came however when I was to leave for college. We loved each other dearly,
brothers in battle, comrades in life to the last. Yet that same suspicion
remained. The separation of our lives for the next weeks effected a change
though. The suspicion passed away and
was replaced by an irrepressible sense of honor. That Christmas was the first
time we ever discussed life openly or considered the other's advice. We replaced what had been a begrudging
existence of disagreement with a grateful relationship of love. We loved each
other as equals who cared rather than as disapproving competition.
As I did for so many years, so we too as Christians have forgotten who our brothers really are, and we have forgotten how to love
them. When you look into the eyes of a stranger on the street, you look into
the eyes of your brother. When you gaze upon a crowd, you gaze upon a gathering
of brethren. When you pass by a searching soul, you pass by a soul kindred to
your own.
But do you seek to bring these searching brothers an answer? Then you must first love. For without love, there is no life to be given.
But do you seek to bring these searching brothers an answer? Then you must first love. For without love, there is no life to be given.