Click Here If You Want Your Toes Stepped On
"The church is where I found God, but it's also where I learned to judge." -NF
PREFACE: every blog post, every message, just know I am preaching to myself too.
"If that's how Christians are, I do not want any part of that." I cannot tell you how many times I have heard that statement. In all honesty, it breaks my heart every time. My heart breaks when I see a broken world, but I would dare to say that my heart breaks even more when I see Christians misrepresenting Christ.
Throughout Scripture we see Jesus and others mention this group of religious officials known as the Pharisees. The Pharisees were known as the official interpreters of the law of Moses. Needless to say, they thought very highly of themselves. The thing that always baffles me about the Pharisees is how they missed Jesus when He was right in front of them. How could someone not see the Messiah, let alone be a part of the crowd yelling, "Crucify Him" if you were an official interpreter of the law of Moses. Here's why... Their priorities were out of order. They were selfish. They were prideful. Matthew 23 is a great illustration of how Jesus is so much more than just a bunch of rules. It's about a relationship with the Creator of the universe. It's about God's infinate glory.
“... do not follow their example. For they do not practice what they preach...Everything they do is for show...”
They lost focus.
They were so focused on a message that they missed the Messenger.
I find it very ironic that in a few verses back in Matthew 22, we find the Pharisees trying to "trick" Jesus with their question regarding the law.
"Teacher, which is the most important commandment in the Law of Moses?" Jesus replied, "You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. A second is equally important: Love your neighbor as yourself."
They were trying to trick Him... good luck with that.
They knew the law forward and backward. I bet they were ready to attack Him, but Jesus said, "The entire law and all the demands of the prophets are based on these two commandments."
LOVE GOD. LOVE PEOPLE. (99% chance this is one of your friend's bio's on Instagram, Facebook, or Twitter or your mom has this posted somewhere in your house.)
In churches, people sit and listen to the pastor as he says, "Blessed are the peacemakers" and encourages the congregation to act out of love, but the moment the service is over it's like the front comes off and out comes the jealousy, the gossip, the bitterness. I wish the church would realize that you NEVER look good trying to make someone else look bad. Jesus refers to the Pharisees as blind, and part of me thinks the church has become blind to what is important. The church is not a place for perfect people, it's a place for the broken... we are ALL broken. The moment we start to criticize one another, the moment we have lost sight of the Gospel.
If this verse steps on your toes-- Good.
“If someone says, “I love God,” but hates a fellow believer, that person is a liar; for if we don’t love people we can see, how can we love God, whom we cannot see?”
"But they don't deserve to be shown love." Guess what? We don't deserve God's love. I am so thankful I did not get what I deserved because I deserved the chains, I deserved to be whipped, I deserved the cross, I deserved the mockery, I deserved the shame, I deserved the crucifixion. Romans 5 tells me that while I was still a sinner, Christ died for me. No questions asked. Knowing I may never acknowledge the free gift of salvation, that I may never choose to experience an incomprehensible love, He still died for me.
“It is the Holy Spirit’s job to convict, God’s job to judge and my job to love.”
This is not a blog post to bash the church, it's just a reminder to make sure the little 'c' church is representing the big 'C' Church. The Church is a place of fellowship. As believers, we are the body of Christ. The church should be a place where people can come to learn, encourage, listen, pray, give, serve.
Let us be diligent with what the Lord has called us to do.
Love God. Love People.
-LM
You are loved! Until next time...
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