Though no one likes to admit it, questioning is frowned upon in the Christian community, because questioning is doubt, and doubt is often perceived as turning away from God instead of toward him. But more often than not, doubt is something else entirely. Doubt is humbling yourself before God and your community that you either don't understand or don't yet have the head or heart knowledge that will heal your ailing, doubting heart. Doubt is admitting that you don't have all of the answers and that you sometimes never will know the answers. And sometimes doubt is even the evidence that you are hurting more than can you bear, as is often experienced when we've lost someone dear to us and suddenly find ourselves doubting God's goodness and His love. While doubt is often seen as a problem, or the evidence of one, it is amazingly enough also sometimes the very medium by which we are able to truly break out from the crowd and seek God and His truth. But unfortunately, it is not an easy road.
Years ago, I came across a blog called "Why I Hate Jesus." I couldn't help but click on it, and when I did I wasn't too surprised that the person running this blog really did hate Jesus and His followers. But it struck me as odd to truly say that you hate Jesus. It's such a strong word, a word that a majority of people in the world would never actually use to describe how they feel about Jesus. Even Muslims would never say that they hate Jesus, as they believe him to be a prophet, and Atheists will say that he was at least a good person with good things to teach. So for some reason, I decided that it would be a good idea to comment on that blog and ask a simple question: Why do you hate Jesus? The owner of the blog, and many of his friends, were more than happy to oblige, and what started out as a simple question became a dialogue (which often felt like an attack) between me and countless Athiests on multiple posts about every topic under the sun. It was hard not to get angry at times, and it was even harder to admit that I didn't always know the answer to their questions, or that perhaps I wasn't always right or morally superior either, but in the end that blog ended up becoming one of the best things that ever happened to me and my faith. It was challenging and it was humbling, and through their questions I was able to learn more about who God is than I ever did in Sunday School or Bible class.
When you live in a Christian bubble, something happens along the way that makes you afraid of any person or any idea that is different from you. You start to view everyone and every thing as a threat to your faith, and in your attempts to protect yourself from losing your faith you move higher and higher up a moral pedestal that ends up alienating you from the people around you and even the God that you serve. In fact, it paralyzes your faith. Following Christ requires you to stand among the people, not above them. It requires you to listen to people, not just shout at them. It gets lonely at the top, and eventually you find that there's nowhere to go but down, and God will indeed bring you down one way or another. When I first started commenting on that blog, I was at the top of that pedestal. I thought I already knew everything there was to know about my faith, I thought that my political and moral ideas were superior, and that the conservative Christian right-wing Republican worldview was THE only (and right) worldview. But step by step they brought me down off that pedestal, sometimes making it feel more like a kick, until I could finally talk to them at their level and see them as human beings, not as a threat to me or my faith. At times, I was genuinely afraid for my faith. I was afraid they were right about something that could be detrimental to my beliefs, I was afraid that hearing what they had to say would plant seeds of doubt in my mind and heart, and I was especially afraid of them being right about all of the things they said about me---that I was a sheep, blindly following the flock, and unintelligent to boot. But one day, when I found myself especially frustrated and afraid, I also found myself on my knees praying to God: "Lord, you've got my back. My faith is a gift, and you are the bearer of that gift, and it is held secure in your hands. I know and trust that no matter who I spend my time with and no matter what ideas or beliefs I listen to, you are going to show me the truth and be the protector of that faith. I know and trust that if I seek you, I will find you. I'm not going to be afraid anymore of the people and things that I don't understand."
This prayer changed me, and over and over again God has transformed my faith through people who don't share my faith, experiences, privileges, or political ideologies. There is a reason that in the armor of God, our faith is a shield and not a weapon. It is not something we use to destroy others, but rather a means by which we protect ourselves from what is untrue, and if faith the size of a mustard seed is enough to move mountains, then our shield doesn't have to be quite as big as we imagined it to be for our faith to remain in tact. In fact, the only truth you need to believe for your faith to be living and active is that your salvation remains in Christ.
But unfortunately, too many Christians do use their faith as a weapon, as a wedge, as a moral high ground and a symbol of their own greatness. Too many Christians stand on a pedestal and shout at the masses, believing that they are carrying out God's command to preach. Sometimes that Christian is even me. But preaching does not mean what many of us think it means. According to Strong's concordance, the Greek word for "preach" is διαλέγομαι (dialegomai), which means "to discuss, to address, to preach." It is used 13 times in the New Testament, "usually of believers exercising 'dialectical reasoning.' This is the process of giving and receiving information with someone to reach deeper understanding – a "going back-and-forth" of thoughts and ideas so people can better know the Lord (His word, will). It is the root of the English word 'dialogue'." Now, I may not speak Greek, but I do speak English, and I know it well enough to know that dialogue requires not just talking, but listening. When you stand in front of a room and state your own opinion and your own thoughts...that is a speech. Preaching, however, leaves room for questions. It allows more than one opinion and opens the floor for others to join in the conversation and wrestle with what you are saying. It does not diminish the truth of God's Word, but rather clarifies it to you and those who are seeking to understand it. Can you imagine how little the Gospel would have spread had Paul gone into the Synagogues and marketplaces and shouted at them instead of reasoned with them? How much smaller his impact would have been if he never took the time to sit and listen to those speaking before he took the platform, thus understanding what it is they even believe? Paul showed us that if you do not take the time to understand how another person thinks, believes, lives, or feels, you cannot properly minister to them.
And Paul is not the only one to show us the true meaning of preaching. Our greatest preacher was Jesus Himself. There was no one in Jesus' time who surrounded themselves with a more diverse population than Jesus did. Not only did He spend the majority of His time among prostitutes, lepers, the poor, the rich, the religious, the irreligious, the Jews, the Gentiles, and yes, even women and children, but His disciples alone were a melting pot of opinions, beliefs, professions, and life experiences. They followed Him without truly understanding who He was or what it meant, and every one of them doubted and asked questions along the way. Yet Jesus answered them, often with a dialogue that required them to think more deeply about what they were asking. He did not mock them or demean them, because His aim wasn't to be right, it was for them to understand. The disciples themselves, being as diverse as they were, didn't always get along with each other, but they allowed their eventual shared faith in Christ to unite them and lead them into friendship, despite their differences, and when they addressed the people to whom they were preaching, people whom believed vastly different things and lived vastly different lives than them, they often referred to them as "friends," not enemies. They truly loved the people they preached to.
If the disciples, who were often beaten, thrown into prison, exiled, and eventually murdered by the very people they preached to, can treat those same people as friends, then I think we Christians can do the same when we're among the people we often perceive as enemies---the people who are different from us and might occasionally trash talk us on the Internet or give us the stink eye. So my fellow Christians, take some time to dwell on this and what it means in your life. Who are the people that are different from you, that you have a hard time understanding? Who are the people that you perceive as enemies? Who are the people that anger you the most? Are they Muslims? Immigrants? African Americans? Liberals? Atheists? The Poor? The Homeless? Pro-choicers? Feminists? Welfare recipients? The Anti-Guns People? The Pro-Guns People? Democrats? Republicans? Democratic Socialists? Politicians? Gays? TransSexuals? Bigots? Racists?
Whoever they are, I pray that you no longer let fear keep you from knowing them and preaching the Gospel to them in a way that values them as a person and values their opinion and their own life struggles. I pray you take the time to actively listen to them and dialogue with them in a way that clarifies God's truth and His love for both you and them. I pray that you are able to humble yourself before the Lord and them, and admit when you are wrong in either belief or action, no matter how much it pains you. I pray that you will allow God to use your "enemies" to change your heart and your life, and to strengthen your faith and relationship with Him. And last, I pray that God will open your eyes to the fact that your salvation is secure in Christ, and that nothing on this earth or outside of it is a threat to your faith in Him. It is a blessed assurance, Jesus is yours.
Take some time to get to know the kinds of people that just came your mind this week. If you know them personally, ask them about their life. If you don't know them, pick up a book, read an article, or watch a movie that shares their unique perspective. See what they have to say. In the worst case scenario, you'll change your mind. In the best case scenario, you'll be informed and maybe even make a friend. Either way, you're better off than you were before.
Years ago, I came across a blog called "Why I Hate Jesus." I couldn't help but click on it, and when I did I wasn't too surprised that the person running this blog really did hate Jesus and His followers. But it struck me as odd to truly say that you hate Jesus. It's such a strong word, a word that a majority of people in the world would never actually use to describe how they feel about Jesus. Even Muslims would never say that they hate Jesus, as they believe him to be a prophet, and Atheists will say that he was at least a good person with good things to teach. So for some reason, I decided that it would be a good idea to comment on that blog and ask a simple question: Why do you hate Jesus? The owner of the blog, and many of his friends, were more than happy to oblige, and what started out as a simple question became a dialogue (which often felt like an attack) between me and countless Athiests on multiple posts about every topic under the sun. It was hard not to get angry at times, and it was even harder to admit that I didn't always know the answer to their questions, or that perhaps I wasn't always right or morally superior either, but in the end that blog ended up becoming one of the best things that ever happened to me and my faith. It was challenging and it was humbling, and through their questions I was able to learn more about who God is than I ever did in Sunday School or Bible class.
When you live in a Christian bubble, something happens along the way that makes you afraid of any person or any idea that is different from you. You start to view everyone and every thing as a threat to your faith, and in your attempts to protect yourself from losing your faith you move higher and higher up a moral pedestal that ends up alienating you from the people around you and even the God that you serve. In fact, it paralyzes your faith. Following Christ requires you to stand among the people, not above them. It requires you to listen to people, not just shout at them. It gets lonely at the top, and eventually you find that there's nowhere to go but down, and God will indeed bring you down one way or another. When I first started commenting on that blog, I was at the top of that pedestal. I thought I already knew everything there was to know about my faith, I thought that my political and moral ideas were superior, and that the conservative Christian right-wing Republican worldview was THE only (and right) worldview. But step by step they brought me down off that pedestal, sometimes making it feel more like a kick, until I could finally talk to them at their level and see them as human beings, not as a threat to me or my faith. At times, I was genuinely afraid for my faith. I was afraid they were right about something that could be detrimental to my beliefs, I was afraid that hearing what they had to say would plant seeds of doubt in my mind and heart, and I was especially afraid of them being right about all of the things they said about me---that I was a sheep, blindly following the flock, and unintelligent to boot. But one day, when I found myself especially frustrated and afraid, I also found myself on my knees praying to God: "Lord, you've got my back. My faith is a gift, and you are the bearer of that gift, and it is held secure in your hands. I know and trust that no matter who I spend my time with and no matter what ideas or beliefs I listen to, you are going to show me the truth and be the protector of that faith. I know and trust that if I seek you, I will find you. I'm not going to be afraid anymore of the people and things that I don't understand."
This prayer changed me, and over and over again God has transformed my faith through people who don't share my faith, experiences, privileges, or political ideologies. There is a reason that in the armor of God, our faith is a shield and not a weapon. It is not something we use to destroy others, but rather a means by which we protect ourselves from what is untrue, and if faith the size of a mustard seed is enough to move mountains, then our shield doesn't have to be quite as big as we imagined it to be for our faith to remain in tact. In fact, the only truth you need to believe for your faith to be living and active is that your salvation remains in Christ.
But unfortunately, too many Christians do use their faith as a weapon, as a wedge, as a moral high ground and a symbol of their own greatness. Too many Christians stand on a pedestal and shout at the masses, believing that they are carrying out God's command to preach. Sometimes that Christian is even me. But preaching does not mean what many of us think it means. According to Strong's concordance, the Greek word for "preach" is διαλέγομαι (dialegomai), which means "to discuss, to address, to preach." It is used 13 times in the New Testament, "usually of believers exercising 'dialectical reasoning.' This is the process of giving and receiving information with someone to reach deeper understanding – a "going back-and-forth" of thoughts and ideas so people can better know the Lord (His word, will). It is the root of the English word 'dialogue'." Now, I may not speak Greek, but I do speak English, and I know it well enough to know that dialogue requires not just talking, but listening. When you stand in front of a room and state your own opinion and your own thoughts...that is a speech. Preaching, however, leaves room for questions. It allows more than one opinion and opens the floor for others to join in the conversation and wrestle with what you are saying. It does not diminish the truth of God's Word, but rather clarifies it to you and those who are seeking to understand it. Can you imagine how little the Gospel would have spread had Paul gone into the Synagogues and marketplaces and shouted at them instead of reasoned with them? How much smaller his impact would have been if he never took the time to sit and listen to those speaking before he took the platform, thus understanding what it is they even believe? Paul showed us that if you do not take the time to understand how another person thinks, believes, lives, or feels, you cannot properly minister to them.
And Paul is not the only one to show us the true meaning of preaching. Our greatest preacher was Jesus Himself. There was no one in Jesus' time who surrounded themselves with a more diverse population than Jesus did. Not only did He spend the majority of His time among prostitutes, lepers, the poor, the rich, the religious, the irreligious, the Jews, the Gentiles, and yes, even women and children, but His disciples alone were a melting pot of opinions, beliefs, professions, and life experiences. They followed Him without truly understanding who He was or what it meant, and every one of them doubted and asked questions along the way. Yet Jesus answered them, often with a dialogue that required them to think more deeply about what they were asking. He did not mock them or demean them, because His aim wasn't to be right, it was for them to understand. The disciples themselves, being as diverse as they were, didn't always get along with each other, but they allowed their eventual shared faith in Christ to unite them and lead them into friendship, despite their differences, and when they addressed the people to whom they were preaching, people whom believed vastly different things and lived vastly different lives than them, they often referred to them as "friends," not enemies. They truly loved the people they preached to.
If the disciples, who were often beaten, thrown into prison, exiled, and eventually murdered by the very people they preached to, can treat those same people as friends, then I think we Christians can do the same when we're among the people we often perceive as enemies---the people who are different from us and might occasionally trash talk us on the Internet or give us the stink eye. So my fellow Christians, take some time to dwell on this and what it means in your life. Who are the people that are different from you, that you have a hard time understanding? Who are the people that you perceive as enemies? Who are the people that anger you the most? Are they Muslims? Immigrants? African Americans? Liberals? Atheists? The Poor? The Homeless? Pro-choicers? Feminists? Welfare recipients? The Anti-Guns People? The Pro-Guns People? Democrats? Republicans? Democratic Socialists? Politicians? Gays? TransSexuals? Bigots? Racists?
Whoever they are, I pray that you no longer let fear keep you from knowing them and preaching the Gospel to them in a way that values them as a person and values their opinion and their own life struggles. I pray you take the time to actively listen to them and dialogue with them in a way that clarifies God's truth and His love for both you and them. I pray that you are able to humble yourself before the Lord and them, and admit when you are wrong in either belief or action, no matter how much it pains you. I pray that you will allow God to use your "enemies" to change your heart and your life, and to strengthen your faith and relationship with Him. And last, I pray that God will open your eyes to the fact that your salvation is secure in Christ, and that nothing on this earth or outside of it is a threat to your faith in Him. It is a blessed assurance, Jesus is yours.
Take some time to get to know the kinds of people that just came your mind this week. If you know them personally, ask them about their life. If you don't know them, pick up a book, read an article, or watch a movie that shares their unique perspective. See what they have to say. In the worst case scenario, you'll change your mind. In the best case scenario, you'll be informed and maybe even make a friend. Either way, you're better off than you were before.
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