My Apologies
A man wiser than me once said that "the greatest cause of atheism in this world is Christians who acknowledge Jesus with their lips but deny Him with their lives". He concluded by saying that "this is what an unbelieving simply finds unbelievable".
I am saddened by the truth of that statement. Not only because of the truth it speaks of so many of us who claim to know Christ but demonstrate no evidence of it, but also because of the frightening reminder that, to many people in our lives, we are the only representation of God they have ever seen.
Here is what I mean. How many of you have ever been shocked by the actions of a child and immediately pictured in your mind what the parents are like? I know I have. And while there can be some correlation between the two we must remember that the actions of the child are not always an accurate reflection of who the parents are. Oh how I wish this unbelieving world would see past my faults and imperfections and gaze on the Lord who is perfect and faultless. For if you truly claim to be a Christian, then you must follow Christ, not other Christians.
So take a couple of minutes and read through the list below (excerpt from an e-mail forwarded to me by my wife). Please comment on any that may resound strongly with you. You can always post anonymously.
I apologize for
Living like my relationship with Christ is a religion.
Separating 'ministry' and everyday life.
Not admitting that I don't know the answer to your questions and doubts.
Acting like I've never had any doubts about my own beliefs.
Over-spiritualizing things that are so simple and practical.
Failing to communicate the enormity of God and the sufficiency of Christ.
The Crusades...they are inexcusable.
Ignoring you when you came to my church.
Acting like 'church' is only a place I go to on Sundays.
All of the 'Christian' denominations fighting amongst themselves.
Acting like I'm any different from you or anyone else.
Living like I could earn my salvation.
Expecting you to clean up your life before I'd hang out with you.
The TV preacher who asked for your money instead of telling you the truth.
Pretending that following Christ guarantees an end to your problems.
Giving the pat Christian answers when you just needed someone to listen.
Failing to live like following Christ is a sacrifice.
Adding to God's words and following rules that He never made.
Blending in at the expense of my personal values and beliefs.
Being hypocritical and irrelevant.
Trying to convert you instead of just loving you.
posted by Katie&Roddy @ 11:56 AM
7 comments
7 Comments:
I see what you mean. I have always seen people at my school who say they are christians but do not really show christian value whatsoever. And there was this one girl who was really high-matenence (and i mean REALLY high matenece) and one of the first things i thought was "I wonder what her parents are like. I mean, the way she acts, her parents cant be that great themselves." then about two months later, I realized her father was dating another woman and was cheating on her mother. The girl didnt even care. She even said "I wouldnt tell on him, his girlfriend is really pretty. Havent you seen her?"
I used to not be religious myself. That was until this girl named Caroline Dandgrige took me to her church and that helped me alot. I still feel like i got to thank her a lot for that.
But anyways, thanks for making those few points. i hope you will put more blogs on.
HAH! Im the first person to respond to this! Im also the ONLY one to respond to this ... for now anyways.
Sure Jeff, sure.
The apology that really stuck out to me was the "Pretending that following Christ solves all of your problems." I listened to a sermon on "The Way of the Master" not long ago and it talked about this. We tell people that Jesus solves all of their problems so they figure, I might as well try it out. However, Jesus promises us that if we follow Him we will have problems. He tells us that we will be persecuted and rejected by the world. When a person faces these trials and is not ready or expecting them, they run from Jesus without thinking twice. We have to show them why they need Jesus(why they need to be saved). If they don't think they need to be saved then they will never think that they need Jesus. Then we have to show them how although there are struggles, Jesus helps us through and rewards us in the ends. Check out the website.
I aapologize for all of the 'Christian' churches fighting amongst themselves.
The church that I attend has recently went through a messy split. People try to color the event more friendly but the truth is the truth. It was a divorce. A violent, name calling, knock down drag out divorce. And as a youth worker I saw the impact on the youth. The hurt and confusion on the kids faces and in their words proved it to me. One kid asked "If God will not keep His church together what chance do we have". If ever I wanted to apologize for being in a church this was it. But now over a year latter and God has shown he can use bad to do good.
i dont know how often virtually all of that stuff has bin true of my life. we all try but i tihnk we can all honestly say we dont try as hard as other things we do. im excited by what i read here and i look forward to gettin to know you better.
Nikitah, your dofus guildmate
(yes, he plays dofus....everyone make fun of him!)
I apologize for failing at times to communicate the enormity of God and the sufficiency of Christ. At times I get so scared. I want to tell people the good news but I am worried about what would happen if I said the wrong thing at the wrong time or gave too much information at the wrong time. Paul says "Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have"(1 Peter 3:15). I have been trying to learn all I can of God's word and how to defend my faith. I know that all the knowledge I gain is worthless unless I apply it to my life to make it wisdom. I also know that the most important thing to do when I am afraid is to just pray. I have recently been able to get over some of my fears and uncertainties of sharing the Word through prayer and learning from God's Word and through the example of Paul and modern day missionaries and evangelists. David says in Psalm 23 "that Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me;". God is here and he can help you with your fears and enable you to have confidence in what you want to do for Him. "For it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose."(Phillipians 2:13). I just want to encourage all that read this comment, yeah I know it's kind of long sorry, but I would encourage them to not be afraid in telling all who will listen about Christ and his sacrifice. Pray for confidence and live your life for the one who gave it to you. Learn all you can in the Word that was inspired(God breathed) so that you may apply it as wisdom to your life and share it with others. "We can do everything through him who gives me strength."(Phillipians 4:13)
Post a Comment
<< Home