Maybe I'm wrong, but it seems to me that hostility towards Christians and Christianity is on the rise. I'm not talking about people who just "get mad," but those who openly express their deep anger towards Christianity, God, the Bible and the Church. Anger that spews forth venomous wrath, vile language and actions of blind furry towards all that is sacred. They seem to be on an energetic crusade to have anything and everything that is "Christian" stripped away and wiped clean from our society. WHY? I wonder why they are so adamant about stopping Christianity because it sure doesn't seem that they are overly concerned about stopping the message of other faiths. I think I might know why! Could it be that we, as Christians, are setting a poor example to others about God? Are we REALLY portraying God the right way? According to Nehemiah 9:7, our God is a forgiving God, gracious and compassionate, slow to anger, and abounding in love. God is very patient towards all of us as proven in Romans 2:4 (NLT), "Don't you realize how kind, tolerant, and patient God is with you? Or don't you care? Can't you see how kind he has been in giving you time to turn from your sin?" I could never understand why some Christians feel like it is their god-given right to openly "condemn" others by using such vicious and condescending language towards those they feel are "sinners." No wonder they hate Christianity...because Christianity has been hateful towards them. It is not our "job" to make the alcoholic sober nor the homosexual a heterosexual. We are not commissioned to change the liar into an advocate of truth. Our mission is still the same as when Jesus commissioned us in Matthew 28:19, to "...go and make disciples of all nations...." I am calling on all Christians to chill out with all the name-calling, finger-pointing, and all the legal and morality crusades towards the people caught up within the ills of our society. We are called to live out Christ-likeness. We love the sinner despite the sin. Instead of wasting time pointing out the sins of others and quoting Scripture to try to get them to change, we should be working on our own sin-issues and be found investing our time dealing with those areas. What image and impression of God are you sending to others? A patient and merciful God who loves them like crazy or one that is condemning, intolerant, and mean? Who will you begin to showing more love to this week?
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