So much of the Christian life is lived out in the context
of relationships. So much so that it
could almost be said that if a Christian doctrine does not have practical
connection to how we live day-in and
day-out with people that it need not take up much of our focus or
attention.
I was struck last week by a tweet from Pope Francis. He said, “The Holy
Spirit helps us to view others with fresh eyes, seeing them always as brothers
and sisters in Jesus, to be respected and loved.”
One of the things that struck me
was the comments that came after his tweet.
Now the pope has 2.5 million followers on Twitter and when you have that
many people together you are bound to have some bad apples, including many who
are not Christians. However, even though
I knew this I was stunned at the large number of people who took the time to
actually tweet back some very angry, hate filled words.
Who could argue with that tweet
from the Pope? Apparently lots of
people. My guess, based on their tone
and the words themselves, is that they weren’t so much arguing with the tweet,
but with what they perceived was behind it.
Their relationship with the Pope,
who for them somehow symbolized Christians or the Church, was clearly
broken. They were angry, filled with
hate in many cases, but also suffering from the pain of some deep wounds.
Christians, or at least people
they perceived to represent Christianity, had hurt them directly or someone
they cared for.
Rick Warren said one time, “Hurt
people hurt people.” It’s so true. When I operate out of my pain and my anger I
will hurt people.
But if relationships are so
important, what am I to do as a follower of Jesus? How can I be a healing agent, sent from God,
to heal some of these relational wounds all around me?
That is a question we need to ask
ourselves. Whether it is our fellow
brother or sister in Christ or someone who is very far from God, we need to
grow into gracious people who are not only saved by God’s grace, but who exude
it as well. That is a key part of this
life of holiness we are walking and growing in.
If the holy life is linked in an
unbreakable way to the relationships I have with others, how is that clearly being
seen in my life? How can I grow in this?
Jim, I agree with almost everything you wrote, but not so sure about this: "if a Christian doctrine does not have practical connection to how we live day-in and day-out with people that it need not take up much of our focus or attention."
ReplyDeleteComments like this are popular in American Christianity because we abstract the intellect from spirituality and imagine that Christianity is all about us. God is not wasteful or idle, and I cannot imagine that his Spirit inspired 66 books of Scripture from which I am to pick and choose what I deem to be of practical relevance for my relationships. In fact, Deuteronomy 29:29 (echoed in the NT by both Paul and Peter) tells me that it is all relevant.
That being said, relationships are important because God made us social creatures and it is within a community context that we live and love God's way. But God is certainly glorified and honored in other ways as well.
Gods healing flowing through us - that Christ's ministry of reconciliation can continue in the earth for the binding up of broken hearts, the deliverance of captives, and healing of the sick. How? The caption in my Bible for 1Corinthinans 13 says, "The Greatest Gift". We know that specific chapter of Paul's epistle is about love. Earlier in Matthew 22:36-40 when the pharisees sought to challenge Christ, He responsed that the greatest commandment is to love God and to love each other. If Love is the greatest gift, and the greatest commandment, then would Love not also be the greatest healing for all hurts, our own, our brethern's, and the lost? Proverbs 10:12 tells us that Love covers ALL sin. Would it be a stretch for me to think that all human weakness not surrendered to Gods love might be considered sin? If God is Love, and we are created in His likeness and image, then would not love be the very thing that operates in and through us for healing, and if not for relationship, how would that love be able to flow? When we truly understand God's love for us, we are able to estend in greater measure His love to others. Be Blessed!
ReplyDeleteGreat Post,( blog). Thought the quote from Pope so worth thinking about and practicing. Strange, but seems to me that Christian people are some of the most critical. So sad.
ReplyDelete