Ye who is without sin cast the first stone….

I have been obsessed with the whole, “Burn in Hell” type concept, and I want to take a minute to address that to those Christians who feel the need to “cast the first stone” and judgment.   This has been on my heart for several weeks now, and it has me a little upset.

First of all, if you are reading my blog for the first time and you are a Christian, I am one too.   I want to ask you a couple of questions to answer to ONLY yourself:  What is a Christian and am I being the best Christian I can possibly be?  If you are reading and studying God’s word and understanding what God is trying to tell you, that’s great?  Good for you.  I attend my church weekly bible study, attend church on most Sunday, and I am active participate in my church’s activities.   I will admit that I do not pick up my bible everyday like I should, and I have access to not only a printed bible, but also a bible on my Android and Ipad.  So, I cannot say that I do not have an excuse to not read and study His word, but that is the fairly easy part.

The next part should be easy; Do you except Jesus as your Lord and Savior?   If you said yes to that question, done.   You cannot get to heaven on just God alone.   Jesus is God’s son, and I do not know how else to put it, because God did send Jesus to save the world.   To those that believe that Jesus was just a mere prophet, you are dead wrong.   People back then during his time believe that, but those who were touched by his healings and miracles knew Jesus was much more than just a prophet, and this included his disciples.  I accepted Jesus at the age of 11. For those who think that was a little young and think that I did not know what that means, no it is not, because I have been attending Sunday school since the age of 3, so I knew exactly what I was doing when the base Chaplin baptized me.   Does that mean I have days that are easy and fun?  No it does not, but I know where to go when I am having those bad days.   More on that in another post.

This last part is what I have a problem with.   Extreme Christians and showing God’s love.   I realize that there are sin being committed every day.   There is gambling, cheating on anything and anyone, extreme sex, lies, embezzlement, bearing false witness,  and the list goes on and on.   Did you know that judgment is one of them?   I am pretty sure it is one of them.   Let me give you an example: 

You have a friend.  Let’s call her Diane.  Diane is in love with this person she just met.  They are her moon and stars, and they complete her.   Did she forget to tell you that he is married with two kids?   Did she also fail to tell you that one of those kids is in her preschool child’s class?  The same kid she had with an unmarried man 4 years ago.   How would you minister to her? Now Diane has not be in church since she was a teen, and her parents did not push the issue, even though they are regular church goers.  Extreme Christians would have her in “burning hell”, splashed Holy water on her, without telling her why it is wrong for her to act the way that she does.  A Christian, on the other hand, would have loved her the way she was, asked if she know who Jesus was, and have taken baby steps with her, because she may have accepted Jesus before all of this came about, but lost her way. 

But what if Diane did not want to change at that moment?  Love her anyway.  Eventually, something would rubbed off on her to get her to change, but you are still not judging her for her actions.  You pray for her, and you show her the kindness that Jesus would have showed her if he was standing right in front of her. 

This is just the personal aspect of whole judgment bit.  Let me throw in when people take kids trick or treat, acknowledge Santa and the Easter Bunny, or if someone decides to drink.   My question is what are you doing in your own home and in your own community that makes you “Holier than thou” from everyone?  If you do not like the whole concept of “Trick or treat”, have alternatives by throwing a party.  Same thing with Santa and the Easter bunny.  This may be a good way of introducing Christ to people who do not know about him, without forcing the issue.   For drinkers, have a virgin party (same type of drinks without the alcohol).  They will not miss it for one night.

John 3:17 says, “For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.”  We are not perfect.  Only God is perfect, and he understands.   It is our job on this Earth to minister, but not stuff God’s word down people’s throats.  This is how you lose people, if you minister in a fire and brimstone method.   Showing God love by just being there sometimes may actually change the hearts of some of these people.  Sometimes it just takes time.    

Be Blessed, my friend.