I haven’t rambled in a while… so here goes…
I’ve been having some conversations recently with some people who are reminding me that I (and you) need to be careful with my/our words.
These are people who are in the 25-35 age range and are sort of walking around the fringe of Christianity. They do not claim to be followers of Jesus because of things that have happened to them that have caused them to not be sure because of the “followers.”
Its like this: If I claim to be following Jesus and do X, then the person observing this behavior is going to think that Jesus is X. get it? (BTW, I know I am revisiting a repeated theme on this blog, maybe it bugs you because you, like me, need to hear it, okay?) But Jesus isn’t X, I am.
Now, it is not fair to those who who actually live up to what it means to follow Jesus and do A, B, and C to throw out what they stand for because of what I do. But that the real thing, right? We react to, make decisions about stuff and build our world view largely on what we experience. Face it, that’s the real deal. So, if I as a known follower of Jesus judge a guy for T behavior, while stating such and such about blah, blah should be… and then I turn around and judge this guy unfairly… what have I done? I have made him think that Jesus is judging him too. Why? Cuz this guy knows me as a follower of Jesus.
So, what do we do? We calm the heck down and have conversations with people about stuff or else we SHUT UP. How’s that?
Feel judged?
Maybe it’s because you have.
I have and I do.
kingdom travelin' 