Stones and Flaming Arrows
I was pondering and praying last night, over the many differences of the early Church to the modern one. I pondered the strong faith and gentle nature of those early Christians, who for love of God were not afraid to go to wretched deaths. They were not militant, they fought not with swords and other man made weapons of the time, but instead trusted in the armor of God, and rested in the peace of Christ. Their forgiveness to those that persecuted them was astounding, their love so very evident.
They were generous to other Christians and to unbelievers, and were known even by those who disliked them as people of love and giving.
I thought of some of the letters (or epistles) from the early Church members, and of some of the sermons, and how lovingly they brought sinners into the fold, to be healed in the love, mercy and compassion of Christ. They taught what sin was, but the focus was on the redeeming mercy and redemption to be found through Christ, and how vast His love for the sinner was.
It is no wonder the Church flourished even in the face of grave persecution.
And it is no wonder the Church is sputtering and stalling in places here in the Western world. We have lost that love of peace and gentleness. We do not practice forgiveness as we should, on the whole. While Christians are still remarkably generous compared to other demographics, we often, in our culture, tie our giving into those who agree with our stances and platforms only.....and we give only within the level of it not affecting our personal comfort. We do love our comforts.
Perhaps the biggest reason though that we're not reaching the fallen, the un-churched, the hurting, the broken, the lost in our society in the way that we should be is our absolute love of condemnation. We cast harsh judgement, we call names, and then wonder why people don't listen to us. We like to quote how Jesus was harsh to the Pharisees as justification for our hardheartedness, but we neglect to see that so often we are the new pharisees, and it is people such as ourselves He is calling vipers.
We forget how loving and gentle Jesus was with the masses, the great compassion for them that moved Him. We don't spend a lot of time trying to be the friend of sinners, such as our Lord was called, we're too busy labeling the sinners so that we can feel better than them.
As I pondered and as I prayed, I saw an image of a woman and a man who knew not Christ. They were fleeing from a mob of angry Christians, who were hurling stones and shooting flaming arrows, while shouting "sinner, adulteress, drug user, fornicator"...and all other sorts of names. My mind blinked and the next scene was of a huge pile of stones, with flaming arrows stuck in the ground, still smoldering. From the mountain of rubble, there were two arms protruding, lifeless. The crowd stood around, looking sad and puzzled...these same people who had thrown the stones and shot the arrows. One turned to another and said, "I wonder why they never came to church?"
That moment shook me, and has haunted me since.
I don't want to get in the way of anyone finding Christ. So I am praying that God will ever guard my heart, and my lips, and my typing fingers so that everything I speak of and share will point people towards the love of Christ. I don't want to chase people away with stones and arrows, I don't want Christ to tell me that I pushed people away from Him.
Let your words be a light to others, my friends. Let them be a healing balm to the soul, and a guidepost to Christ. We cannot err by loving people too much, or by sharing the love of Christ too much. None of us are clean enough to shoot arrows or throw stones, but all of us can show mercy.
Be blessed, my friends, and may you be a blessing unto others,
-Beth Haynes Butler
I was pondering and praying last night, over the many differences of the early Church to the modern one. I pondered the strong faith and gentle nature of those early Christians, who for love of God were not afraid to go to wretched deaths. They were not militant, they fought not with swords and other man made weapons of the time, but instead trusted in the armor of God, and rested in the peace of Christ. Their forgiveness to those that persecuted them was astounding, their love so very evident.
They were generous to other Christians and to unbelievers, and were known even by those who disliked them as people of love and giving.
I thought of some of the letters (or epistles) from the early Church members, and of some of the sermons, and how lovingly they brought sinners into the fold, to be healed in the love, mercy and compassion of Christ. They taught what sin was, but the focus was on the redeeming mercy and redemption to be found through Christ, and how vast His love for the sinner was.
It is no wonder the Church flourished even in the face of grave persecution.
And it is no wonder the Church is sputtering and stalling in places here in the Western world. We have lost that love of peace and gentleness. We do not practice forgiveness as we should, on the whole. While Christians are still remarkably generous compared to other demographics, we often, in our culture, tie our giving into those who agree with our stances and platforms only.....and we give only within the level of it not affecting our personal comfort. We do love our comforts.
Perhaps the biggest reason though that we're not reaching the fallen, the un-churched, the hurting, the broken, the lost in our society in the way that we should be is our absolute love of condemnation. We cast harsh judgement, we call names, and then wonder why people don't listen to us. We like to quote how Jesus was harsh to the Pharisees as justification for our hardheartedness, but we neglect to see that so often we are the new pharisees, and it is people such as ourselves He is calling vipers.
We forget how loving and gentle Jesus was with the masses, the great compassion for them that moved Him. We don't spend a lot of time trying to be the friend of sinners, such as our Lord was called, we're too busy labeling the sinners so that we can feel better than them.
As I pondered and as I prayed, I saw an image of a woman and a man who knew not Christ. They were fleeing from a mob of angry Christians, who were hurling stones and shooting flaming arrows, while shouting "sinner, adulteress, drug user, fornicator"...and all other sorts of names. My mind blinked and the next scene was of a huge pile of stones, with flaming arrows stuck in the ground, still smoldering. From the mountain of rubble, there were two arms protruding, lifeless. The crowd stood around, looking sad and puzzled...these same people who had thrown the stones and shot the arrows. One turned to another and said, "I wonder why they never came to church?"
That moment shook me, and has haunted me since.
I don't want to get in the way of anyone finding Christ. So I am praying that God will ever guard my heart, and my lips, and my typing fingers so that everything I speak of and share will point people towards the love of Christ. I don't want to chase people away with stones and arrows, I don't want Christ to tell me that I pushed people away from Him.
Let your words be a light to others, my friends. Let them be a healing balm to the soul, and a guidepost to Christ. We cannot err by loving people too much, or by sharing the love of Christ too much. None of us are clean enough to shoot arrows or throw stones, but all of us can show mercy.
Be blessed, my friends, and may you be a blessing unto others,
-Beth Haynes Butler
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