For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. John 3:17
I was working on part 2 of my last blog when I had something else come to the forefront of my mind. On Sunday I was having trouble with the check in stations we use at church to give kids name tags. They kind of just stopped working right before 2nd service which is our busiest one. The church team did a phenomenal job trying to get everything fixed and put back together. But before that happened, I was joking around with the youth pastor on how I felt about the new check in system as a whole. I was holding my coffee cup and he asked me how much I had left. I told him there’s about half in the cup left. He asked how full I thought it was. I know he was going for the whole “Half Full/Half Empty” remark so I decided to be cheeky and said “You know, it’s just right.” We laughed and then he made a comment on tip towing the line. But it really got me thinking about what I say and do.
There are a lot of issues that our world is faced with and everyone seems to have an opinion. For Christians, it’s the current president, the LGBT community, abortion, or most recently whether Popeyes has risen up against Chickfila for the best chicken sandwich. Both sides of any argument are dedicated to their cause and stand up for what they believe is right. But whenever these questions arise, I don’t typically get involved. Do I have a personal opinion on these topics? Of course I do, but I don’t go out of my way to voice them. But the more I thought about it, the more I started to question myself. Does that make me a bad Christian by not voicing my opinion on these issues? Am I just “walking the line” by not stating my case one way or the other? It’s like a catch 22. I can’t take a side in fear of alienating the other, but by not taking a side I’m alienating everyone. So what’s the solution? Simple. Follow Jesus.
Ooh, big shocking side I’m taking with that statement. What I mean is that Jesus was constantly pressured by the scribes and priests to give his opinion on “political” matters. They would bring forth scenarios and ask him “Which was is right and which way is wrong?” Do you know how many times Jesus gave them the answer they wanted? ZERO! Probably the most famous example of this is John chapter 8 when they bring a woman caught in adultery to Jesus. They quote the law of Moses and ask Jesus what would He do. If he said “Stone her” then they would condemn Him of hating sinners when He claimed to come to free them. If He said “Leave her alone” they would condemn Him of going against God’s law which He can’t do if He truly is the Son of God. So what does He do? He sits on the ground and draws in the dirt and ignores them like a 5 year old does when he’s told he’s playing goalie that morning for his soccer team. I know that because that was me.
But then He gives the most amazing reply ever. “He who is without sin among you, let him throw a stone at her first.” OH SNAP! MIC DROP! WALK OFF THE STAGE! Now I know some people have a problem with this passage because they feel that Jesus is giving the woman a free pass, but He’s not.
10 When Jesus had raised Himself up and saw no one but the woman, He said to her, “Woman, where are those accusers of yours? Has no one condemned you?” 11 She said, “No one, Lord.” And Jesus said to her, “Neither do I condemn you; go and sin no more.”
This is what Jesus came to do. Not to condemn our sins but to convict us to change our ways to follow Him. I don’t want to bully people into loving God. I want them to see that living with His love is more beneficial than living without it. So if you ask me how I feel about the current president and his policies, the first thing I’ll do is sit on the ground and ignore you because that’s what Jesus would do. More importantly, I will let you know that it doesn’t matter what I think about any president, power or agenda. What matters is what God thinks about me. I don’t want to condemn sinners and nail them to a cross. I want to help people lay their sins and burdens at the feet of Jesus through conviction to live life without fear and without condemnation. Maybe that does mean I’m walking a tightrope and not leaning one way or the other. If that’s how you feel, then I’ll take that as a compliment and quote Matthew 7:14, “But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.” My hope is that we can walk that line together of God’s never ending love and mercy for all the world to see.
