Monday, February 23, 2015

Let Us Not Bury Our Heads in the Sand

As Christians, we must be mature and realistic enough to cope with the real world, to work with people who we disagree with and to be lights in the darkness, the salt of the earth.

Often, we are not realistic or mature. We don't want to have to deal with problems within our own spheres and we definitely fear encountering opposition from the world. That is cowardice.

Social and moral problems are pervasive today. Christian morality and beliefs are not the dominant beliefs any more. So what? Does the Bible tell us how to live in a sinful world? Does it tell us to hide, or does it tell us to go right out there and save souls.

We are here not to only work with and interact with those we like or whom we agree with. We are on this earth to be salt and light. If we marginalize, avoid or do not know how to interact with people whose choices and lifestyles differ from us, then we have a lot to learn from Jesus, who was God and came down to live amongst stinking, dirty, and sinful mortals.



Are we as Christians allowed to choose whom to serve and who not to serve? Jesus came to be a servant to all, especially and only to those who did not deserve it.

What should we do when encountering sin? Resist it, overcome it, and grieve for those caught in it. We should be taking opportunity God gives us to follow the leading of the Holy Spirit to witness to and have interactions with unbelievers.



If I am a Christian, I have to treat every person like I treat Jesus, and like how Jesus would treat every person.

We don't force our beliefs on people; we point them to Jesus who offers the supernatural solution to our dire, natural state.

We don't go against our consciences,  but we should be virtuous and strong to overcome the world, not quick to run away from anything that doesn't fit into our comfort zone. The world is uncomfortable. It is often disgusting and filthy and definitely unclean. But we if do not go out into the world and reach people, who will?



What would Jesus do when faced with sin? Jesus would be grieved. He would weep, he would pray, he would love anyone and lay down His life for them.

Are we grieved and distressed by the state of the world and the hearts of men, or are we disgusted and righteously outraged.

Grief, I believe, is the answer. We should not praise sin; we should not run away from it either. We should grieve because of it and overcome it with the blood of Jesus.

Grief comes from love, love comes from God. Condemnation does not come from love, but conviction does. We can pour condemnation on the world but it will not convict anyone. People are convicted by their God-given consciences and by sincere love. They are condemned by their own natural states; that is why they need Jesus to heal and deliver them.

God has a better way, but that way is paved with blood and tears. The Christian life is marked by suffering and sacrifice, not by prosperity and ease.We have to honest firstly about what walking on the narrow way and following Jesus means for us, and we have to be real about our faith and living it out in this world.




No comments: