Friday, September 12, 2014

Osteens, Jesus and the log in your eye

4 comments:
 
"You should have a reality show!" people tell me all the time. "Your family is so funny!" Every time, I think, "I am SO glad I don't have a reality show." I control the way we are presented, for the most part. I tell you the funny stories, the redemptive moments. I don't tell you how heavy it is to have a teenager with severe special needs, not really. I don't share the ugly moments, the bad advice I've given, so many selfish choices I make... I don't tell you when I really, really blow it. I am so thankful for the grace and forgiveness of God, because if I had a camera in my face, NO one would offer me that kind of grace. I suspect it's the same for you.

I watch these Christian "scandals" unfold, somebody says something stupid or they question the Bible in some way; right now the dogpile is on Victoria Osteen, weeks ago it was Michael Gungor. We, the hands and feet, the human arms of Jesus Christ, cannot wait to attack our fellow Christians. We grab onto a headline, an out-of-context quote (or in-context), a weak moment, and we rip our brothers apart. I cannot imagine the broken heart of the Father in these moments. Do we have a responsibility as Christians to hold each other accountable? Maybe we do. But I bet you when Jesus had to turn around to his beloved friend Peter and say, "Get behind me, Satan," I bet it hurt Him tremendously. I imagine Him saying it through His own tears, His own longing for Peter to be aligned with His heart, back in the safety of that place. I guarantee Jesus didn't feel proud of Himself for taking Peter down a notch.

The anonymity of the internet makes us all bullies. We can write an open letter, a scathing blog, and our friends will cheer for us and against our brothers, while the subject of our vitriol will probably never see our stunning, brilliant rebuke. What are you doing with your life? What is your time going to? Because there are some men and women of God out there, doing the work, asking the hard questions, making mistakes, sure- but making them in the pursuit of truth and the propagation of the Gospel- to glorify Jesus. We are ONE, guys. We're the SAME BODY, serving the SAME CHRIST. Our face to the world is a civil war, often an uncivil one. If I were an unbeliever, I guarantee I would have no interest in a faith that cackled with glee when one of their own stumbled.

What would it look like if we lost the anger and the fear and the bitterness? What if we blessed each other, prayed for each other? We need each other, we need all the facets that all the different voices and expressions bring.

 Let's not be so eager to wound and destroy each other.



4 comments:

  1. So proud of you friend. You are changing the world around you every day with your heart made of gold. xoxoxoxo (Whether you want 'em or not!)

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  2. Maybe we didn't all feel proud posting, maybe we ached but knew we had friends who didn't understand why God let such bad things happen to them when they tried to worship and think good things because God wanted them to be happy. This blog hurts alot. You cant see our hearts you know. No one i know was happy to post it but maybe some were. Not me. None of it was good but Chirstians condemning me for it feels worse. Wish we mattered as much as joel and Victoria to you guys.

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  3. are the prosperity preachers and other false prophets really our "brothers"? we absolutely do NOT serve the same Christ.

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  4. Hi anonymous,

    I don't know who you are so I can't speak to our relationship. I can say that I posted this in response to literally hundreds of posts on Facebook and Twitter, and it in no way is directed at one person or group. Message me privately if we're friends and you want to talk.

    ReplyDelete

Jess here: if Blogger gives you problems, just click "Anonymous" and sign your name. Roll with the punches, folks...

 
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