Many of you may read the title of this blog and think that I am going to write about the Supreme Court decision. Well, you would be right in a sense. I want to write about it, but from a different angle.
I have read a few things about the decision through social media today. Most are in favor of the decision and I'm honestly not surprised. We live in a day and age when decisions like this will happen. Does it affect my beliefs as a Christian and what I will teach as a pastor? No. I will still believe, teach, and preach what I know to be true. Does that make me a bad person? I guess it depends on who you talk to.
One of things that has saddened me throughout this whole debate is the attitudes from both sides towards the other side of the issue. I have written posts and a book (Millennial Gospel http://www.amazon.com/Millennial-Gospel-Ryan-Reveley-ebook/dp/B00UDAAS22/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1435337643&sr=8-1&keywords=millennial+gospel) about the attitude of the church over this and other issues like it. What also saddens me is the attitude from supporters of gay marriage towards Christians.
Now, will I support gay marriage or the homosexual lifestyle? No. Will I marry a homosexual couple? No. I can't because the Bible I read and believe in does not support either. Now, before you want to lynch me, here me out. While I don't support those lifestyles, I also don't support any lifestyles opposed to God's word and that includes my own. I have a somewhat addictive personality. There are certain things that I will talk myself into trying and not be able to break away from. This is why I struggled with pornography for a large part of my life. It was a destructive lifestyle that hurt me and others around me. I do not support that now or then, even when I was in the middle of it. As a believer in Christ, I cannot support things that do not honor God. So, I am saddened when people call Christians like me bigots, intolerant, relics to be forgotten, etc. just because we do not believe the same.
One thing I will not do is push my beliefs on anyone. That is not the way Jesus did it and that is not the way his followers should do it. Therefore, why should Christians be forced to believe the same as supporters of gay marriage? There is a call for Christians to abandon their beliefs and come to the other side of the argument. If we don't, then we will be forgotten by history and forced to be corrected. Is that real equality? Equality can be achieved even if we don't agree.
I have a close friend who is a Green Bay Packers fan. I hate the Packers because I am a Chicago Bears fan. Now, I could be really extreme and tell him, "If you don't stop rooting for the Packers, then we can't be friends anymore." But, that is silly, right? I know that is a silly analogy, but the idea behind it can be applied. I can tell someone who supports homosexuality that we can't be friends anymore and they need to believe in what I tell them to believe. But, would that be right? No. Will I tell them the truth that I believe in and tell them that I don't agree with their lifestyle and other life decisions they make? Of course, if I value them as a friend.
My goal as a Christian is to bring people close to Christ; my goal is not to push them away by trying to correct behavior. I couldn't correct my own behavior when I was dealing with pornography. The only One who changed me was Christ. I want to be friends with people and treat them as people. That also means that I will share the truth that I believe in with them. If they get upset, I can't help that. But, I won't beat them over the head with it.
So, I ask as we move forward as a country, don't expect me or other Christians like me to come over to your side of the argument. We will do our best not to impose our beliefs, but we will share them any chance we get. That is what we were saved for and called to do. We will do our best not to label you and so I ask that you not label us either.
I want all people to know the hope and grace that is found in Christ. I want all people to know how he loves us so much that he does not want to leave us the same. Does that make me intolerant? Depends on who you ask. Will I stop believing that and change my mind? Never because I answer to a King who lived a perfect life for me and died in my place. I answer to a King who took the punishment my sins deserved so that if I believe in him, I will have life and life eternal. My King did not abandon me so I will not abandon him no matter what.
Friday, June 26, 2015
Wednesday, June 24, 2015
Quest for Unity
I grew up in Arkansas. Arkansas is typically seen as redneck and a supporter of the Confederate flag. That is somewhat true; it is somewhat true because it depends on what part of Arkansas you are in and what Arkansans you are talking to. I grew up in Cabot, AR and when I was in high school, the rebel flag caused controversy in my little town. Cabot High School asked one of its students to remove the rebel flag from the back window of his pickup truck. To give you a little context, Cabot was mainly an all white town. So, you would think that the rebel flag would be supported in an all white town in Arkansas. But, Cabot also had a rumored reputation for being racist. Therefore, the difficult situation the school was put in when school officials saw the rebel flag on display in the back of a student's pickup truck. In protest to the school's decision, some students and their parents protested that night at a commuter parking lot in town. They protested by waving rebel flags, thus making the evening news and adding more unwanted attention. Imagine if this happened in the age of social media.
The rebel flag is back in the spotlight because of the recent shootings in Charleston, SC. It is a sad day on so many levels for our country. This incident further sparked racial tensions that have been on the rise lately. Now, there are calls for the rebel flag and other Confederate symbols to be taken down for the sake of calming the racial tensions and for unity.
You may assume that growing up in the south that I was a racist to some degree at some point in my life. I will admit that I was taught that it was wrong to be romantically involved with someone from another race because the Bible taught that. But, I guess I would be considered a rebel because I never understood why people treated other people of a different color differently. I never understood why the civil rights movement even happened because I saw people as people regardless of their skin color. I did not have many black friends because I never had the opportunity to have them. But, that changed as I got older, but I did not see them as my black friends; I saw them as my friends.
Today we are striving for unity. But, our first step towards that unity is to drop the labels. We label ourselves as well as other people. And, I think the group that has to lead the way is the Church. Christians cannot claim innocence in all of this. We label people outside the church as well as inside the church. It is our human nature to do so, but we have a new nature now. Paul said in II Corinthians 5:17, "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone and the new has come." So, if we are a new creation, then we have to act like it.
The Church has to lead the way in this quest for unity. We have to seek unity within the Church so that we can carry that unity out into the world. It breaks my heart to see people act as though the Civil War is still going on. It breaks my heart to hear members of the Body of Christ put labels on people because a label ignores their humanity and makes them a category.
Our example is Christ and Christ did not label people. He saw and treated people as people. He told his disciples to love one another so that all men would know they were his disciples (see John 13:34-35). To love one another is to love one another as people not labels. Does this mean we accept one another's faults and sins? No because Jesus loved people too much to accept the things in their lives that would hurt or destroy them.
The Church was saved and called to be different. We are supposed to be the trendsetters. We are supposed to be the ones to lead the way in the quest for unity. The way we are going to do that is obey the commands of Christ and love one another regardless of skin color. Paul said in Galatians 3:28-29, "There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise." For Paul to write these words shows the transformation that took place within him because of Jesus. Paul was a staunch Jew before he met Christ. He thought the Gentiles were scum and unworthy of God's mercy. He would never dare to say that they were Abraham's seed. But, after Christ changed him, Paul realized that labels cause division. Paul understood that Christ brought unity; therefore, the attitude Paul had towards the Gentiles changed. Instead of seeing them as scum, he saw them as people in desperate need of Jesus.
This is the message that the Church needs to lead the way with. True equality will not be achieved without Christ. We can try all we want to eliminate labels, but it won't happen because only Christ can eliminate the labels. Under Christ, we realize that we are nothing apart from him. He is the One who gives us purpose and meaning. He is the one brings us from death to life. He is the one who unifies us.
The rebel flag is back in the spotlight because of the recent shootings in Charleston, SC. It is a sad day on so many levels for our country. This incident further sparked racial tensions that have been on the rise lately. Now, there are calls for the rebel flag and other Confederate symbols to be taken down for the sake of calming the racial tensions and for unity.
You may assume that growing up in the south that I was a racist to some degree at some point in my life. I will admit that I was taught that it was wrong to be romantically involved with someone from another race because the Bible taught that. But, I guess I would be considered a rebel because I never understood why people treated other people of a different color differently. I never understood why the civil rights movement even happened because I saw people as people regardless of their skin color. I did not have many black friends because I never had the opportunity to have them. But, that changed as I got older, but I did not see them as my black friends; I saw them as my friends.
Today we are striving for unity. But, our first step towards that unity is to drop the labels. We label ourselves as well as other people. And, I think the group that has to lead the way is the Church. Christians cannot claim innocence in all of this. We label people outside the church as well as inside the church. It is our human nature to do so, but we have a new nature now. Paul said in II Corinthians 5:17, "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone and the new has come." So, if we are a new creation, then we have to act like it.
The Church has to lead the way in this quest for unity. We have to seek unity within the Church so that we can carry that unity out into the world. It breaks my heart to see people act as though the Civil War is still going on. It breaks my heart to hear members of the Body of Christ put labels on people because a label ignores their humanity and makes them a category.
Our example is Christ and Christ did not label people. He saw and treated people as people. He told his disciples to love one another so that all men would know they were his disciples (see John 13:34-35). To love one another is to love one another as people not labels. Does this mean we accept one another's faults and sins? No because Jesus loved people too much to accept the things in their lives that would hurt or destroy them.
The Church was saved and called to be different. We are supposed to be the trendsetters. We are supposed to be the ones to lead the way in the quest for unity. The way we are going to do that is obey the commands of Christ and love one another regardless of skin color. Paul said in Galatians 3:28-29, "There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise." For Paul to write these words shows the transformation that took place within him because of Jesus. Paul was a staunch Jew before he met Christ. He thought the Gentiles were scum and unworthy of God's mercy. He would never dare to say that they were Abraham's seed. But, after Christ changed him, Paul realized that labels cause division. Paul understood that Christ brought unity; therefore, the attitude Paul had towards the Gentiles changed. Instead of seeing them as scum, he saw them as people in desperate need of Jesus.
This is the message that the Church needs to lead the way with. True equality will not be achieved without Christ. We can try all we want to eliminate labels, but it won't happen because only Christ can eliminate the labels. Under Christ, we realize that we are nothing apart from him. He is the One who gives us purpose and meaning. He is the one brings us from death to life. He is the one who unifies us.
Monday, June 15, 2015
Heroic
Over the last couple of weeks in our country, there has been much debate over the definition of a hero. Because we all are different with different perspectives, the definition of hero is different as well.
But, today a woman passed away that embodies the very definition of heroic and her name was Elizabeth Elliot.
Now, you may be asking yourself, who is Elizabeth Elliot. You won't hear about her death on the news or read about it on social media, which is unfortunate. It is unfortunate because everyone should know this woman's story and be inspired by it.
In 1953, she married Jim Elliot in Ecuador. They were living there as missionaries to the Quechua Indians. These Indians were savage people who did not have much contact with the outside world. They were a primitive people who wanted to be left alone and fiercely protected themselves from intruders. In Jim Elliot and other missionaries attempted to reach out to these Indians with the love of Christ, in hopes to lead them to Christ. But, in 1956 tragedy struck. Jim Elliot and the other missionaries who were with him were killed by the Indians they were trying to reach. Now, imagine living in a strange land and your loved one had just been horribly killed by the very people you were showing love and kindness to. What would you do?
Here is what Elizabeth Elliot did: she learned the language of the Quechua and lived among them for two years! Most of us would pack up and leave. We would never think to live with the people who had killed our loved ones. But, Elizabeth Elliot was not most of us. She lived for a King who showed all of us what love was and how to love.
Not only did Elizabeth Elliot continue the work in Ecuador, but she also went on to right more than 20 books and was a highly demanded speaker. She also experienced the death of another husband, but still kept doing what her King called her to do.
Elizabeth knew and understood that she was radically loved by Jesus her King. She devoted her life to sharing that same radical love to anyone who would listen. Some may call her foolish for what she did, but I call her heroic. To be heroic is to face impossible odds. To be heroic is to take actions that may not be popular not make stands that are already acceptable. This was a woman who radically loved because she was radically loved. May we all be challenged by this woman to radically love even when it may not be popular. May we all be challenged by a life that did the seemingly foolish, but in reality was quite heroic. Thank you Elizabeth for showing us what being heroic was all about.
But, today a woman passed away that embodies the very definition of heroic and her name was Elizabeth Elliot.
Now, you may be asking yourself, who is Elizabeth Elliot. You won't hear about her death on the news or read about it on social media, which is unfortunate. It is unfortunate because everyone should know this woman's story and be inspired by it.
In 1953, she married Jim Elliot in Ecuador. They were living there as missionaries to the Quechua Indians. These Indians were savage people who did not have much contact with the outside world. They were a primitive people who wanted to be left alone and fiercely protected themselves from intruders. In Jim Elliot and other missionaries attempted to reach out to these Indians with the love of Christ, in hopes to lead them to Christ. But, in 1956 tragedy struck. Jim Elliot and the other missionaries who were with him were killed by the Indians they were trying to reach. Now, imagine living in a strange land and your loved one had just been horribly killed by the very people you were showing love and kindness to. What would you do?
Here is what Elizabeth Elliot did: she learned the language of the Quechua and lived among them for two years! Most of us would pack up and leave. We would never think to live with the people who had killed our loved ones. But, Elizabeth Elliot was not most of us. She lived for a King who showed all of us what love was and how to love.
Not only did Elizabeth Elliot continue the work in Ecuador, but she also went on to right more than 20 books and was a highly demanded speaker. She also experienced the death of another husband, but still kept doing what her King called her to do.
Elizabeth knew and understood that she was radically loved by Jesus her King. She devoted her life to sharing that same radical love to anyone who would listen. Some may call her foolish for what she did, but I call her heroic. To be heroic is to face impossible odds. To be heroic is to take actions that may not be popular not make stands that are already acceptable. This was a woman who radically loved because she was radically loved. May we all be challenged by this woman to radically love even when it may not be popular. May we all be challenged by a life that did the seemingly foolish, but in reality was quite heroic. Thank you Elizabeth for showing us what being heroic was all about.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)