Now, for the record, I have absolutely no problem sharing the Gospel. Christians are called to share the Gospel and make disciples of all nations. However...
There is an effective way to do it, and a not-so effective way to do it. Your chances of winning someone over to Christ are pretty slim if you are too busy condemning and persecuting them for their sins. Do you think you are doing them a bit of good by ramming that Bible down their throat?
Instead, think about Jesus. Think about how He must have made Matthew feel at very that moment when Matthew KNEW he wanted to follow Jesus. And all the other disciples. Jesus didn't act Pharisaical. He didn't need to.
Allow me to get personal for a minute. I am a divorced, single mother. Yes, I know divorce is a sin. And believe me, that is certainly by far NOT the only sin I am guilty of. And I am also aware that I am not the ONLY one who has ever sinned. We all have.
And yet, there have been times when I have come to church, that I have felt the heavy stares of judgment. More often than not, I have felt uncomfortable, like I don't fit in. I can't count the number of times where I have walked in alone, and walked out alone after service was over, and not one person said anything to me. Am I not supposed to be there? Am I wearing the wrong clothes? Or maybe it's because I didn't bring my bible with me? Or maybe because I do not have a husband to accompany me... was I supposed to have one of those? I don't know if it's all in my head. It could be. But the point is, I still FEEL that way.
Has anyone ever felt like an outcast in church? I know I am not alone. Maybe it's time for a change. Maybe it's time for one great, big group hug! Everybody - GROUP HUG!!
Now, didn't that make you feel better?
If We Are The Body lyrics
Songwriters: Hall, Mark;
It's crowded in a worship today
As she slips in
Trying to fade into the faces
The girls' teasing laughter is carrying farther than they know
Farther than they know
But if we are the body
Why aren't His arms reaching?
Why aren't His hands healing?
Why aren't His words teaching?
And if we are the body
Why aren't His feet going?
Why is His love not showing them
There is a way? There is a way?
A traveler is far away from home
He sheds his coat
And quietly sinks into the back row
The weight of their judgmental glances tell him that his chances
Are better out on the road
But if we are the body
Why aren't His arms reaching?
Why aren't His hands healing?
Why aren't His words teaching?
And if we are the body
Why aren't His feet going
Why is His love not showing them
There is a way?
But Jesus paid much too high a price
For us to pick and choose who should come
And we are the body of Christ
But if we are the body
Why aren't His arms reaching?
Why aren't His hands healing?
Why aren't His words teaching?
And if we are the body
Why aren't His feet going?
Why is His love not showing them
There is a way?
If we are the body
Why aren't His arms reaching?
Why aren't His hands healing?
Why aren't His words teaching?
And if we are the body
Why aren't His feet going?
Why is His love not showing them
There is a way? As Jesus is the way
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6 comments:
This is a great bit of thinking and sharing. Matthew and Zacchaeus always come to my mind when I think about Jesus and evangelism, as well as his words about the Pharisees in Matthew 23 (how interesting is it that MATTHEW remembers this):
But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you shut the kingdom of heaven in people's faces. For you neither enter yourselves nor allow those who would enter to go in.
Hang in there -- I hope you've found a place where you can gather and be embraced by other believers.
in HIS love,
nick
i love that song, it is so true. sometimes we all need to take a long look in the mirror and ask ourselves if we are being what God wants us to be. i have felt lie an outcast many times due to being a young mother. or maybe i wasn't dressed nice enough, who knows. he important thing i always remember is i know the God I serve, and I know that he loves me no matter. I hope others who come across these situations look past the church of they aren't comfy and know that God is bigger.
Great food for spiritual thought! I Corinthians 9:22 (NIV?) says: "I become all things to all people that by all means I might save some."
Different approaches are going to work for different people. If we get those people right with GOD and help them live right for GOD through Godly means, GOD doesn't care what approach we use.
I too have felt what you have felt. Not too long ago, I was in Phoenix after a ball and I took up an invitation from some friends to attend church with them. It was the first time I had been to a traditional, conservative Baptist church. I found it a bit of a culture shock for me, being a non-denominational Christian after being raised Presbyterian, which tends to be a pretty liberal denomination to begin with.
But one thing struck me. I had brought along my NIV Bible, and I was going to read along with the teaching when one of my friends politely halted me -- "That won't be right!" I didn't know it, but this church stuck to the King James Version, which is a very beautiful version but one I don't read because it's hard for me to understand.
Later, we were talking about translations, and one of my friends said, "we use the King James Version because it's been around for hundreds of years. Who knows how long this NIV version is going to be around?"
I felt a little sick, as if they were trying to tell me my version of the Bible wasn't good enough, even though one of them told me, "it's still a good translation."
I'm saddened and disappointed when people treat Christianity as a social club, a device by which they hold themselves higher than those -- ahem -- "sinners." Yes, there are times when we have to offer tough love to people who are sinning, and we should. But many times, many people classify some Christians as sinners because the "worldly" sins they are committing are not sins at all, but rather violations of some religious rules made by men. In other words, these people are acting as Pharisees. Jesus couldn't get rid of them, and we can't either. We always have to deal with them. That's why it's so important that we measure ourselves by GOD's word in the Bible, not by the standards of other Christians. True, as Proverbs tells us, "as iron sharpens iron, man shall sharpen man," But rusty iron isn't going to work.
Great comments!
Christopher, I understand about the King James version debate. My old friend Bobby V. would agree with me here - If a person TRULY wants to get nit-picky, they need to learn ancient Hebrew and Greek, and take it from there.
Just to clarify, I was NOT singling out any one church out in particular.
This is one of the main reasons I listen to sermons on-line instead of actually going to church. :-)
Being an atheist for several years (good ol' teenage angst), I can tell you that I didn't find God because one day someone suddenly scorned me badly enough! It took considerably less effort than that on the part of others, haha.
This was a great post. :-)
I enjoyed this post, as I think it shows how hypocritical some people who call themselves Christians can be.
I think there are many ways to share Christ's love with others, and probably the least effective, as you stated, is by beating them up with scripture. For me, I was drawn to the humility of the Christians with whom I associate. They are like humble little beacons of light who have helped me and countless others our ways back to Christ.
They did not preach the Gospel to me. They showed me how they live it.
If we are the Body, we should also shine like, or at least reflect the Light of Christ.
As for the people you feel are judging you at church, I would keep in mind that Christ did not hang out with holy people and church leaders. Christ surrounded himself and ministered to the sick and to the sinful, teaching us to love and to forgive.
So forgive them. We cannot be forgiven without first being able to forgive. We cannot love our neighbors without knowing how to love our enemies.
...and keep shining your light.
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