I started a book during this fast that is entitled Vanishing Grace: What Ever Happened to the Good News? by Philip Yancey. He describes how many people in this generation view Christian evangelicals as prejudiced, intolerant, haters with right wing political agendas who are in their own little elitist worlds snubbing their noses at those who are not like them. Think about it; the picketers at the abortion clinic who are bent on their picketing rather than loving the girl who is so lost that she would abort her baby; the judgemental intensity which Christians point out that lesbians and gays are going to hell; the constant attacks on all things left wing…. the list goes on and on. Rather than loving these lost souls and finding common ground to love and develop relationships with them, we boldly and critically judge and throw stones. And in turn the number of young atheists and agnostics is growing. I truly believe that not all Christian evangelicals act as I have described. I would even venture it is a very small minority. However, the postmodern world has lumped all Christians into this mold. According to Yancey, a survey done by the Barna group in 1996 revealed that 85% of Americans who had no religious commitment still favorably viewed Chritianity. In 2009 only 16% of the same group viewed Christians favorably. Social media, news, comedians all encourage the persecution of Christians. My desire is that we show the world a different approach. Lets follow the example of Christ set in Luke and throughout the gospels. Luke 15:1 states ” Now the tax collectors (also known as the most evil scum of the earth) and sinners (synonymous with diseases, prostitutes, slave traders…) were gathering around to hear him. But the pharisees and teachers of the law( unfortunately the “righteous” bunch resembling some of us evangelicals today) muttered , ‘This man welcomes sinners and eats with them.’ ” Are we afraid to welcome homosexuals and prostitutes and unwed mothers and unrepentant aborters of babies into our churches. I dare say that these folks would not come on initial invite. It requires true relationships as Jesus demonstrated over and over again.
I personally found myself the recipient of prejudice had always felt towards a group. I was suddenly a divorced mother of three in 2007. I prior to this point we were a homeschooling family. I wanted to protect my children from “the evils of this world.” We were in a church with believers many of which home schooled for the same reason. My family went from like minded safe to “a broken home.” My kids were now labeled as the kids in public school with the divorced mom. This was a difficult time in our lives. There were some loved my family despite the fact that we were no longer safely in the mold that was comfortable and acceptable to the church. I am eternally grateful to those women. I had to come face to face with my own prejudice toward families that were blended. I always saw them as not quite right or not measuring up in some way. I was truly humbled and I began to grieve for all the folks who must experience the prejudice we felt.
Imagine if we remove labels and just follow the simple yet most profound command; Love your neighbor as yourself. I daresay neighbor is not just the homogeneous, like minded crowd. Jesus pointed the way.
Well this is what Christ has been showing me to this point in the fast. I am excited to go into the world and show grace as Christ has instructed me to do. Praise God.
The Jouney 