Well I haven't blogged in a while. Mostly because I've been really tired, at church, or working. And the past week I've been sick. I'm not just going to talk about my being sick in the blog, so stick with me. I have had a really bad headache and I've been really tired for the past week. Also, I've started getting nauseas when I stand up. So I mostly stay in bed. So please be praying for me, I go to the doctor today around 2.
But to the real point of this blog, sickness.
I'm talking about sickness in the body, just a different kind. A spiritual sickness. A sickness that Jesus has brought to my attention here lately. Sickness in the church. It's everywhere! But the main one that I am talking about, is lethal. It tears people away from the refreshing blood of Jesus. The sickness I'm talking about is judgment.
Now, we will ALL say "Well I don't judge people that come to church, that's not right!". But honestly, you judge them with every bone in your body, and you don't even know it. I used to be this way to, up until real recently. See we've been doing this study about grace at my new church, Church of the Harvest. And God has really opened my eyes to this critical state of the church. For so long, the duration of our Christian lives, we have been taught to judge ourselves based on what we do. Whether you will admit it or not, that's how we have been taught to tell if our relationship with Christ is healthy or not. It depends on how much we sin, right? Wrong. On my earlier post, I talked about grace. But I want to speak about it more critically in this blog.
Until Christians get a revelation of the true deepness of Grace, nothing is going to change. The bible clearly states that. Honestly, it makes me sick. After all these years I've found the two most important things in Christianity. Grace & Faith. Without these we have nothing. And faith without action is dead. The action of faith, is grace. And while you may think your living under grace, you very well may be wrong. I know I thought I was living under grace. I've been talking to non-believers a WHOLE lot more this year than normal. Probably because I understand what they're going through and what they're thinking. This might cause some tension, what i'm about to say, but it needs to be said. These last couple of years I have grown a LOT in my experiences. I have experienced with partying and I was obviously looked down upon because of it. I never did anything bad at these parties, but just because I went, now i'm not a good Christian. At least, that's how I was looked at and talked too. It wasn't the non-believers calling me that, they couldn't care less. It was the Christians. My own friends. I was shunned, because I wasn't all white in their black & white view, and I think that is partly why I went. If I wasn't going to be good enough for them, why even try?
Your probably thinking, well you shouldn't have went. That's not my point, I know I shouldn't have went. But, the fact that Christians were telling me I wasn't good enough by not talking to me and not reaching out to me is what makes me mad. And this is what I have realized.
CHRISTIANS:
We don't realize it, and sometimes I think we do. We make people feel crappy for the life that their living. That is not our job, that's the holy spirits job. If you see a Christian falling off track, why on EARTH would we make them feel bad about what they're doing? Shouldn't we be trying to help them back up? Instead of breaking away from them, AFRAID that we might fall into sin, we just leave them hanging. Are you kidding me? Yeah, leave them going down the wrong path, that shows the love of Jesus.
And secondly, We sit around and scheme trying to think of ways to get people to want to come to church. Wow, really? I know for a fact that if we were showing the love of Christ, the pure love, people wouldn't be hesitant to come to church. We don't realize it because it's how we have always been taught but we judge all the live long day. We judge people when they walk into the church. We show them judgment when we stay in our clique of Christian friends. WHY aren't we branching out, talking to non-believers about their lives, giving them hope, showing them love, with no judgment attached. Honestly, why would anyone want to come somewhere where they are being held to perfection? Where they always have to check themselves before they walk in the door? I know I'm not perfect, and I'm never going to be but I'm okay with going to church because I know the trueness of God's grace. But they don't. So stop wondering why people don't want to come to church, and start changing. Start loving, and not holding back because your scared that you might fall into sin. There is a dying world and there is a Christian world, and we just stay in our little world and do nothing about it. Get real people, your pushing people away from God & from church. I have proof, I'm just not going to publish it for the whole world to see, so if you want to know more about people I have talked to this about (non-believers), then contact me.
Anyways, I know this was a long post but I hope you searched yourself when you read it.
Thanks,
Bevin
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Wow that's really deep. thanks for sending me this link. (:
ReplyDeletei have no idea how to put my name on this thingy, but this is courtney!
ReplyDeletegood, good, good, gooooooood.
it amazes me how you can put all this into words. i mean, ive been sitting right beside you, learning the same stuff. i just didnt know what to DO about it.
yesterday, we continued talking about God connections. Pastor Kirk talked about how God connections help us see and reach our potential. he said 'our potential, not perfection, should be the pursuit of our lives'
he talked about the woman at the well, who had been married five times, and wasnt even living with her husband, but with a boyfriend. How Jesus spoke with her and ministered with her, and how she spread the Word to Samarians, while she was definately not perfect. But she wasnt striving to be. She was striving to reach her potential.
that message reallly really spoke to me. considering all ive been through, i still have sooo much potential. and i want others to see theirs, see that it's not lost!
girl, i know that you are one of my God connections.
i love you,beth, thaaank you.
Hey, I managed to stumble across this and read it. Don't think you know who I am. I think that a lot of what you said is true, but I disagree with your approach. Did you not see that by writing this you were judging those who judged you? It started out logical and practical and then turned into a rant about the way people treated you when you made a mistake. I believe that there are ways to make a change without trying to tear down the "traditional church" as you view it.
ReplyDeleteI don't believe I am judging them, because I used to be the same way. I know how they and how I used to think of things, and I know what God has put on my heart. I'm not tearing down the traditional church, just asking Christians to look at themselves and see if this pertains to them.
ReplyDeleteGreat words and I applause your passion. Its difficult to write a blog and carry a tone that makes everyone happy. I agree totally with what you said. It's to bad that many Christians react this way. Instead of reacting to sin we should respond. Respond with love and acceptance. Jesus didnt cast the first stone and neither should we. It's difficult to be like Jesus for all of us but if we truly understand grace and how much he loves us then we are more apt to carry the message on instead of being angry, frustrated, Christians, give it to Jesus instead and do your part. Love them anyway.
ReplyDeleteSumdumgi