Sunday, October 25, 2009

Believing or Belonging

ben did the sermon today at church...major, major kudos! i'm glad that he took this topic...gutsy. why?...it's just that some christians find the topic to be uncomfortable.

"creating an all-inclusive community"

i've just noticed (and have been one) that some christians elevate truth (what is believed) to such a place that those beliefs actually become a "membership checklist". not meeting the guidelines eliminates people from "belonging" (being loved, intrinsically valued). imagine how that impacts the second great commandment...love your neighbor as yourself.

hence why the american church probably has such a bad reputation for loving the world...well-earned, i think. often, we don't love until people have proven they qualify for the club benefits.

again with the extremes...hehe.

but...as ben pointed out...jesus didn't come to show us how easy it is for god to love (he being god)...no, he came to show us how capable humanity is of hearing god's heart and expressing it.

we could actually express the life and love of god and "belong" each other to life...to belief.

does that mean that truth isn't important? no. it's just that there are deeper questions that hearts are yearning for answers to...ours included...the expression of love's truth more than the outline's bullet points.

No comments: