It saddens me when I see people whom I have admired walk away from their faith because they feel like others in that faith are too judgmental, harsh or dismissive of those who have fallen short or who are perceived by some as “sinners.”
I have never considered my faith to be about the people in that faith. My faith is in Jesus Christ. He is the perfect One. Not a single other person can claim that. and it would be foolish of me to expect or demand it and a waste of time for me to rant about it.
God’s word is His word. The way He advocates that we live to be happy is given to us for a reason. — that we might live in the manner of happiness.
Man may find His commandments too hard, to impossible, too unfair, but His Word is His Word. A faith that adheres to His word is a faith anchored in truth. Just because with man, what He asks looks impossible, doesn’t mean that it’s cruel or unfair. It simply means that we need GOD to make it possible…. With HIM all things are possible … even keeping commandments and living lives that seem impossible.
What miraculous blessings are we encouraging others to forfeit by telling them, “Bail… walk away… God’s commandments don’t apply to you”? The miracles happen when we face something that looks impossible and lean into and rely on the mercy and grace of the Holy Messiah. None of us is enough on our own. The sooner we admit that and lean on Him, the sooner we gain a sure knowledge that with Jesus Christ ANYTHING is possible… ANYTHING!
Having said that, Jesus never said to dismiss, demean, hate or be unkind to those who struggle. Rather, he advocated that the Shepherd leave the 99 for the 1 who had gone astray and carry him/her back to the fold rejoicing. Just because some of Christ’s disciples are stuck in judgement and unable or are unwilling to reach out to others with unconditional love, does not make His Church any less true.
Those who leave because they find others judgmental are guilty of the very crime that they leave their faith for – judgement. We all sin. Just because my sin takes a different form than yours doesn’t make me better or worse. We’ve all fallen short. We all need Jesus.
If you are one of those who has compassion for those who struggle with God’s commandments, have compassion on the judgmental too. They’re struggling as much as the person you have compassion for. Their sin just looks different. Stay in the boat and show others how to love. You don’t breed love with accusations, judgement, back-biting vile, or walking away in self-righteous indignation. You breed love by loving.
I certainly am not perfect in love, so I’m not pointing fingers here — just making an observation. We all need to learn to be more Christ-like in our love. It’s something I work on daily. Turning our backs on Him and His truths isn’t the answer. Stay in the boat, serve, and love all the more.
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