Love One Another

I have been a Christian my entire life.  There is not a day I can remember when I didn't believe in God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit.  I've had my trials in life and my fair share of drama but not once did I doubt God had me in the palm of His hand and that everything would be alright.  

I was raised Catholic and have spent most of my adult life in a Presbyterian church.  The two religions are somewhat similar and I've been comfortable in both.  Ultimately what religion my church happens to practice is not as important to me as my personal relationship with God.   However I think it is important to belong to a church community for the fellowship, accountability and support it offers.   During the times in my life where I have not been connected to a church, I have felt a huge void in my life.  Which brings me to the point of this post. 

There is no perfect church.  There is no perfect Christian.  We all fail God's vision for us every single day because we are human.  I have been very blessed to be a part of some amazing church families in my lifetime.  I adore the church community we are a part of right now.   I look forward to many years of raising our children there.  However, tonight I am struggling.  I am wishing there was no such thing as church politics and that we could all just Love One Another and it would be just that easy.   I understand that people have opinions and have every right to express them.  I just wish I didn't feel so scared to express my own.  I am wondering if I'm in the right denomination.  I really think I'm more of a "non-denominational" gal but in this city, most of the time, that means Baptist.   I know that is not the right place for me.  I've had a really hard time finding a place to fit in the Christian community because I have a hard time with the hypocrisy that goes along with it.  

So many Christian people claim to have an "all inclusive" "everyone is welcome" attitude only to be very blunt about their feelings when it comes to gays, drug addicts, criminals, and even people of a different race.  I'm not claiming to be free from my own prejudices.  I am human after all.  But if there is one thing I think Jesus meant more than anything it was "Love Thy Neighbor".   Jesus was all about love and acceptance and forgiveness.  Why is it so hard for us to be the same way??  (That's a rhetorical question)   

What got me stirred up tonight was a conversation I was a part of (well, one I listened to) tonight.   As some of you readers know, I have two gay siblings.  Its very difficult to be a part of a mostly conservative church when you have a family dynamic like mine.  I adore my brother and sister and their respective partners.  Tonight I got to hear what some of my church friends think of people with a more liberal mindset and although it didn't surprise me, its very hard for me to sit and nod my head like I agree with the majority.  I guarantee those people had no idea how uncomfortable it was for me to stay silent, let alone stay in the room.  My brother and sister both believe in God.  They pray.  They have a relationship with Jesus.  But I think if they were in town and came to my church with their partners in tow, it would make many people in the congregation uncomfortable.  And that makes me sad. 

Luke 6:31 states the Golden Rule -  ³¹" Do to others as you would like them to do to you".   

 But do you now what it says next? 

 ³² “If you love only those who love you, why should you get credit for that? Even sinners love those who love them! ³³ And if you do good only to those who do good to you, why should you get credit? Even sinners do that much! ³⁴ And if you lend money only to those who can repay you, why should you get credit? Even sinners will lend to other sinners for a full return.”     

We are called to love all people as Jesus did– no exceptions.  Its not easy... I struggle with it every day but I try to teach my daughters the Golden Rule by example.  I guess my point of posting this is to challenge you to do the same. 

Collin Raye had a song called "What if Jesus Comes Back Like That" where he talks about our prejudices against certain types of people - a hobo living under a bridge, "white trash" and a drug addicted newborn.  The last chorus goes like this...

What if Jesus comes back like that
Where will he find out hearts are at
Will he let us in or turn his back
What if Jesus comes back like that
Will he cry when he sees where our hearts are at
Will he let us in or turn his back
What if Jesus comes back like that
Hey what if Jesus comes back like that