Only the Hardlines of Jesus Count

Recently We have seen people draw hard lines where hard lines don’t belong.

Scrolling on our computer screens, we’ve witnessed many changes in popular Christian culture. We have watched evangelists, authors and mentors change their views on worldly issues. At times they are basing changes on biblical principal and other times on personal belief. We are privy to conversations about where to go from here, where to stand with a decision and how to recover from the fallout. Regardless of our beliefs, we know we will be criticized either way.  The truth is, our personal feelings  and respect for others rights are not supposed  to supersede biblical provisions. Lately, everything seems to have gotten a little fuzzy around the edges.

Yet one thing is crystal clear:

The church is not living up to even the wildest dreams of what Jesus had planned for her.

I wonder what new Christians are thinking.

I shudder at the thought, mostly because I know what I am thinking, and none of it is comforting.

Recently we made some changes in the place we call home, as far as church goes. There were many reasons to walk away from our lifelong church, but they all culminated with one thing. We simply needed more of Jesus, less of people.

 

More of Jesus means more mercy, unending grace, unconditional love, and continuous servanthood. It requires reading the Bible and taking it at face value. More of Jesus also means equipping ourselves with the correct information. When we want more of Jesus, we should be seeking out ways to simply live like him. We should be walking the walk we talk about so frequently. It demands we look past our emotion, which is so very human of us, and see the reality of sins, the consequences, and the solutions.

Less of people means before we speak, we pray. It also means before we act, we pray. Before we cast judgment on others, make public our dissatisfaction or react in defense , we need to turn in to the Father and pray. Nothing is too small or too large for our God; He wants to hear our cries and know we trust him with all of it. After the praying comes the listening.

The listening we need to be doing is clearly not the listening we have been doing. Our people are hurting. The people we care about and are ministering to have a lot to deal with already.  Because of the words of a few high profile Christians, some of the trust they had in us may be fading. The conflicting information causes confusion and disharmony. How are we supposed to hold our people close and draw them near, when so much inconsistent information swirls around us all?  Being argumentative, harsh or drawing lines in the sand is not worth what is happening right now. The only opinion I am interested in is the one of Jesus, and the plan he laid out for his church all those years ago.

 

Matthew 28:16-20(NIV)

 

The Great Commission

16 Then the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go. 17 When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted. 18 Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

The Great Commission comes with both a condition and a promise. Jesus only wanted the very best for the church. He only asked for obedience and for us to love one another and he promises to be with us always.