Yesterday, circumstances placed me in two different places with two different groups of people. The first was a group of people that make the claim of Christianity in their lives. I have no idea what the claim of the second group is, and I am not yet in a position with this group to inquire. However, in the group of Christians, I encountered rigid rule-keeping and the natural result of such—self-righteousness. In the second group (the ones whose religions beliefs I do not yet know), I was met with genuine interest in me, a smiling face, approachable attitude, and a sincere respect. In fact, I even got a hug from a man I did not really even know. That was his way of saying hello. The events took me back to a time in college, my freshman year, when I encountered a self-interested group of Christians in a particular campus ministry. Each was very confident in his own standing with God, in his own practice of righteousness, and his own understanding of scripture. This group, much like the one I met yesterday, lacked that thing that John talks about in John 15 when he says, “love one another as I have loved you.”
For me, one of the most frustrating things I deal with in life is people who say they know Christ yet lack the love that is characteristic of Him. I fear I fail too often to communicate to you (those of you who are Christians and those of you who are not) that I love you. I hope you know that I care deeply.
You do realize don’t you (church) that if the world loves better than we love, we lose?!?
