Monday, October 1, 2012

Reason #15


I left the church because one day, they put signs out in the church lawn that said “Marriage = 1 Man + 1 Woman: Vote Yes on Prop 1,” and I knew the moment I saw them that I never wanted to come back. 

Jesus had an incredible way of dealing with people so that he communicated that he loved and cared for people - then he dealt with the sin issues of their lives.  Jesus was only harsh with the religious leaders of the day who claimed to know God.  Everyone else Jesus healed, fed, loved and cared for before he confronted their sin.  He was not afraid to say, "Now go and sin no more!"  Jesus loved people too much to not let them know God had a better plan for their lives then to continue to live in their sinful ways.  
I believe the churches problem with trying to change our culture  by political action is that we put the confrontation in front of the love and compassion.  It is difficult to propose a law that promotes Biblical principles on marriage without it communicating to a group of people that we don't value you or care about you.  I believe this is just a short cut mentality.  God calls us to invest in people in need that live and work around us.  When we do this we will find people in need of friendship and love.  As we meet the needs of people around us, God will open opportunities for us to speak truth in a loving way to people - when they are ready to hear!  Now that is hard work. It may take us years to develop a trusting relationship and then it may take a few more years before that person is ready to hear.  We have to not only invest in people on a consistent basis, but then we must be willing to wait until the Holy Spirit tells us to speak.  No wonder we would just rather try and pass a law that communicates God's truth.  
Follow Jesus' example!  Don't get caught up in the political shortcuts!  Do the hard things!  God will help us and reward our efforts!  It is God's Kingdom that should be our priority and therefore we need to do things God's way! 

Traditions

Jesus was in Jerusalem and got into a heated argument with the Pharisees about hand washing. The Pharisees emphasized a ritual of hand washi...