Where Atheists Get It Right

One of my atheist friends made an observation: “You Christians have it easy in some ways. Since your god forgives you for everything, you get to go around being mean without ever making it right because you’ve been ‘forgiven’.”

Wow!

My friend pointed out that atheists are not conscience free. Instead of praying to God to forgive them and (hopefully) silence that still small voice nagging at them from the back of their head, they actually go to the person they offended and make things right.

There are people we’ve wronged with whom we will never be reconciled. Loved ones who are gone or mentally impaired, for instance. In cases involving missed opportunities, we are so blessed to know that forgiveness can still be ours because of God’s amazing grace.

When we lie, cheat, gossip, or in some other way mistreat people, we can’t just fall back on the bumper sticker-ism, “Not Perfect, Just Forgiven”. We must be reconciled!

God’s forgiveness is ours for the asking, about that there is no argument. The New Testament is filled with admonishments to believers regarding our interpersonal relationships, and yet we still treat our brothers and sisters shamefully. Of course God forgives us for our many infractions, but we need to make things right with each other.

Come on! Get off the pew and be reconciled with the people you worship with every Sunday.

Ask Forgiveness - Not Permission

It’s easier to ask forgiveness than permission.

A lot of people live this way, and I’m a little bit jealous of them. They are brave, confident, and unflinching. But what about those people from whom forgiveness must be asked? Perhaps they’d RATHER be considered before an act is committed against them.

A local church just finished a remodel on the campus. They chose to move forward and finish the project without securing the proper building permits, so as to have the building ready in time to host a special invited guest. They’re now on the hook for fines levied by the city.

Look, all the people who give their tithes and offerings to this church have trusted the pastor, the staff, and the church board to be good stewards of their hard-earned money.

The remodel alone cost hundreds of thousands of dollars. In these precarious economic times, it’s irresponsible to throw money away on unnecessary fines. Oh sure, the pastor can ask for forgiveness, but is the cost of breaking the law and damaging the church’s reputation really worth the prestige of hosting a big name musical group?

I strongly believe that Christian leaders ought to be setting the bar for propriety and goodness. We are only human, of course, and therefore flawed. However, we are called to be Jesus with skin on. He came to offer forgiveness, not ask for it.

Now get of the pew and do right. If you’ve been given a position of church leadership, you’ve been called to a big job and you need to be in pursuit of holiness while fulfilling your responsibilities.

Remember, Jesus came to offer forgiveness – not ask for it! Now get off the pew, kick clichés and platitudes out the door, and take care of that which has been entrusted to you.

Grace is NOT an Excuse!

I never cease to be truly shocked and saddened by the way believers treat one another. We say cruel things, we make rotten choices, and we gossip about and judge our brothers and sisters more harshly then any 12 men on a jury ever could. It is my belief that we forgive these infractions because "grace" dictates we do so. We study bumper sticker theology and we believe such truths as, "forgiven, not perfect". If we complain about mistreatment by a fellow parishioner, we are admonished to "show grace".

Christians are not expected to be perfect. We are, however, expected to always be in pursuit of holiness. We are expected (and rightfully so) to be Christ followers who are doing our best to be Christ LIKE. John 13:31-35 gives us wisdom as to how others will know we are Christians. They will know not by our actions, not by how much money we give to the poor, and certainly not by the size of the mega church we build or attend. But rather, they will know us by how we love each other. Read it from God's word; "When he was gone, Jesus said, 'Now is the Son of Man glorified and God is glorified in him. If God is glorified in him,[c] God will glorify the Son in himself, and will glorify him at once. My children, I will be with you only a little longer. You will look for me, and just as I told the Jews, so I tell you now: Where I am going, you cannot come. A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.'"

"Forgiven, not perfect" people like us should not be given a free pass to behave badly. Showing grace to our brothers and sisters does NOT mean that we turn a blind eye to sin, or even just plain meanness! I have seen example after example of Christians who say and do the most horrible things, but it is so often the one who calls attention to the bad behavior who gets the boot. The "whistle-blower" is seen as "intolerant" and "lacking grace".

Get off the pew and LOVE ONE ANOTHER! Holding one another accountable is not a sign that we cannot show grace, but rather it is the most loving and graceful thing you can do for someone we love. Telling the truth in love is what we are admonished to do. Ephesians 4:15 (New International Version) "Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into him who is the Head, that is, Christ." Get off the pew and do not be afraid to speak truth in love!

Yep, all the stories are true

All the stories in this blog are absolutely true. Many of them are about me, but the names have all been changed to protect the innocent and the guilty. I LOVE the church and I LOVE God's kids, but the world doesn't always see us in the most positive light. We deserve much of the criticism. They are watching how we treat one another, and we aren't always very kind to our own family members. However, I totally believe that if we would accept our foibles and weaknesses and let God shine His light into that which has been hidden in darkness, we could attract people in a new and exciting way!

Get off the pew and let the world see your scars. Let them see your weaknesses. Let them see that we have to turn to God for strength and forgiveness on a daily basis. Show the world that we really believe that ALL things are possible through Christ who gives us strength! We don't offer the world a promise of perfection! We offer the world a promise of forgiveness and hope!

Get off the pew!