I know there is a lot of Ill will towards Christians. And before I say anything else I would like to state that I understand why. Because the label Christian has been used to judge, hate, and sometimes even kill others. None of those things are okay! They are despicable! For those who label themselves Christian and inflict these things on others, this hate...
Hypocrite is not nearly a strong enough word for you!
To quote Jesus, we could call them a "brood of vipers" These people are beyond lost.
Now I would like to make a really silly analogy. Just to help illustrate the simple foolishness of a hateful Christian. It would be like joining a group called "the giraffe lovers", who's soul purpose was to care for, keep safe and love giraffes, then going out and killing giraffes. Why did you join that group and completely disregard its purpose? Not only is that the opposite of what you should be doing, It would, and should, upset the founders of giraffe lovers to say the least, like throwing mud on all they stand for. Maybe it would be better to look in the mirror, recognize your hate and form another group honest to your hateful desires. Call it what you really are, a giraffe hater! But no, you became a part of this group. Why?
You are destroying all it stands for!
This is what the world sees of Giraffe lovers! Their hateful actions will be much louder than those who are out caring for our long neck friends. Firing a gun is always louder than shaking a hand. The world would react defensively for giraffes as they should! But also defensively against a group who just wanted what was best for giraffes and never okayed the actions of these loud jerks! The groups whole purpose would be railroaded!
Truth can be very easily lost in the noise.
Okay I got carried away with the analogy. My point is. I very much understand the upset towards what the label "Christian" has represented. And I think the label deserves that upset, and I think it should force the church to take a long hard look at what it represents, but I see something amidst the smoke and dust these loud hurtful people have created.
I truly felt love from reading the gospels, from Jesus.
A very deep knowing, humble, simple, yet profound example of love. I see a beautiful foundation for something that has been completely misrepresented by so many. I want people to be able to see through the loud stuff! To at least get a glimpse of what the intent might have been. For just a moment try to see past the fools going around killing giraffes and consider that maybe they don't represent the core values of that group. Maybe they don't know what the heck they are doing.
That just maybe, Christianity has been railroaded by "the very loud", who do all the very things that would upset Jesus the most!
Now I know we could also get into historical debates about who Jesus or yeshua really was. Whether he was more than a man, or whether he existed at all. Those are fair debates and should be allowed to happen. For my purposes though, the idea of Jesus is compelling enough to begin the process of following him/his teaching regardless. Not because I want to Judge or hate or be high and mighty or because I know what it all means or because it's the only way to love. None of that! That actually goes completely against what I believe the message of Jesus is.
I truly want to love the world better, love myself better. I believe the world deserves love, I believe people are beautiful and I want to love more truly, more deeply. I want to treat people
Better, more humbly, less judgementally.
I believe the most miraculous thing about the story of Jesus is not the healing of sickness or turning water into wine or any of the physical miracles. Even with out those things, the teachings of Jesus would stand out to me because of his wild and unapologetic outlook on loving. He came into a time when the law was an eye for an eye and he said love your enemy. When the religious leaders were like Gods and he said humble yourselves. He wanted to be with the outcasts, he wanted to love them into wellness. A time when wisdom was like gold and he said be like children. He didn't just preach. He lived it out.
I want to follow Jesus, not because I know for sure I'm right! I want to follow him because I want to understand love more deeply. I want to know why a man would die for strangers because he wanted to live out love so badly, he was willing to die for it. I want to know why the privilege of sacrifice leads to fulfilment in a mysterious, "we are all one" kind of way!
I don't ever want you to be hurt in the name of what I believe! Because who I follow only wants to heal brokenness, to love others, to fix the hurt.
Ultimately if you choose to still believe a true follower of Christ is just bad news. I will not get loud and angry. I will do what I am taught, directly from how Jesus modelled it. I will close my mouth, and I will attempt just simply, to love!
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