I have made many mistakes in my life. There have been times when I was narrow-minded, racist, bigoted, and chauvinistic to say the least. I am human and, unfortunately, will make more mistakes. I want to apologize for my ignorance. I also want to give thanks to God, who has shown me mercy and has liberated me from some of my foolishness. It tears my heart when I hear other people who profess to be Christians slandering another person due to their creed, race, or religion. Whatever differences we may have, we all were created in the image of God. The only time that hate is mentioned in the Bible to be an acceptable act of a Christian is in Romans 12:9 "Let love be without dissimulation. Abhor that which is evil; cleave to that which is good." To clarify and emphasize my point, it says hate "that" which is evil, not hate "those" which are evil (or those who we sometimes lump into a certain category and deem to be evil due do differences). What does the Bible have to say about "those" who are evil? Matthew 5:43-45 "Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy. But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you; That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust" (by the way, these words are in red in the Bible). The harsh and foul words that we use out of anger and ignorance separate us from each other and more sadly, farther from God. It is well known if you want to make a parent mad, say something negative about their child. God, our Heavenly Father, is no different. Yet we foolishly smear one another with epitaphs. Matthew 22:36-39 "Master, which is the great commandment in the law? Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself." If you want to know who your neighbor is read the story of the good Samaritan in Luke 10:29-37. As Christians we are called to love. It is time we all start behaving a bit more "Christ like". Just a small refresher for those who have been out of Sunday School for a while.
Posted on: Mon, 07 Oct 2013 14:11:59 +0000