"A man shocked me one day when he said, 'You Christians don't love Christ. You hate Christ. You hate what he stands for.' He continued, 'You cover up your own hatred and fear of Christ by talking about how much you love Jesus. But if you love Jesus, why don't you love your enemies? If you love Jesus, why don't you really obey the gospel, most of which you ignore.'"(R. Rohr "Radical Grace" pp. 117-118)
As harsh as that quote seems it is a valid point. Most of us do ignore a good chunk of the bible, especially the parts that actually cast a critical eye on us. Make know mistake we love the parts that nail other people, but please spare me anything that would point out where I fall short.
I've experienced this personally while arguing with a very sincere person who couldn't understand how I'd come to such a radically different point of view on one of the "hot button" topics confronting the church. I had missed "the clear meaning of scripture." When it was my turn to respond, I asked a question, had this person "sold all their possessions and given them to the poor yet?" And the dance around the issue was interesting to hear. So much for the "clear meaning of scripture."
My sense is that most of us who call ourselves Christian do not hate Christ. We most likely fear the demands that the gospel tries to compel us to. And while we surely cannot pick and choose which pieces of scripture we're going to listen to and which we aren't, that is exactly what 99% of us do. Perhaps this is what the bible is trying to tell us. Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling. Remember that you are looking through a glass dimly. You can only see the promised land from a distance. You will have to walk through the valley of the shadow of death, but God will be with you.
But each day I'm called to attempt with the God's help to live my life as closely to the faith I profess. And if I fall short, to wake up and try again the next day.
Blessings,
Ed
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment