Dear brothers and sisters,
I write these letters to you because I love you. I don’t want to see you destroyed by hate and pride and isolation. I don’t want to see the church fall apart because we are so focused on ourselves and our comfort that we ignore the pain of others. We’ve stopped looking at others with God’s eyes and instead we’ve begun to label others as “them”. We’ve started to first consider what works best for me, what is comfortable for me and not what Christ considers best. We’ve started to judge first and then, maybe, consider what Christ would have done within the confines of what we want.
My generation of believers who grew up in the church was raised with the question, “What would Jesus do?” I fear that as we tossed those bracelets in the trash we also tossed away the question and reflection it brought. Can we say with confidence we respond as a church the way Christ calls us to? Are we reaching out with love and compassion? Sitting down with those cast aside, judged by society? Or are we the ones judging, are we the pharisees with clean outsides but dirty hearts?
I ask myself these questions as well. I look at the way I can respond to others and think, “Is this how Christ would behave? Is this how he would treat these people?” If I’m honest, sometimes the answer is no. I judge before I develop compassion. I let anger take root and become focused on myself and my comfort. This is not Christlike. As I reflect on these things, I implore you all to do the same.
I long for us to be united as a church, not divided by preferences or political beliefs or background differences. I have no credentials that you would listen to me over anyone else. I’m just an observer, observing the church of the West, the Church of Canada as it starts to become something I don’t believe we were called to be. Weren’t we called to be a refuge for the brokenhearted and deserted? Weren’t we called to bring the message of grace, peace, mercy, love and forgiveness to all people? Not just people we deem as worthy. Would you be deemed worthy by another’s standard? If someone had access to all the nooks and crannies of my life, I know I wouldn’t be. I am far from perfect.
I don’t think I’m better than you to write these things to you. Even as these letters have formed in my head I’ve said to God, “Surely there is someone else better. Someone more qualified. I must be thinking of myself too highly.” But, I guess the fact of the matter is, God uses imperfect people. So, I urge you to consider these things as a person with flaws and faults considering my own part in the church’s shift toward the focus on the individual without the focus on the greater and wider impact of salvation (this idea was called to my attention for me recently by the book The Very Good Gospel by Lisa Sharon Harper- there are brains far more intelligent than mine who have written wonderful books on this truth).
So, I urge you, the Canadian church, will you step back with me and ask yourself…Are we who we were called to be?
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