I Have a Dream!

Martin Luther King is not the only to ever have a dream, I do too! I have a dream that someday I'll find a church that focuses less on which version of the Bible I read, and more on loving the world.

I have a dream that someday I'll find a church where all people are accepted and loved. I have a dream that someday I'll find a church that focuses on loving the individual first, and offering gentle correction second. Yes, part of our job is to help our brothers and sisters grow, move away from their struggles and into my obedience with Christ. A bigger part is to love each other. The Holy Spirit will do the chastising, but we are called to love.

Think of Jesus. A mob found a woman in the act of committing adultery and brought her to Jesus, expecting him to publicly chastise her, but that isn't how Jesus responded. Jesus chastised the crowd!  Then, when they had some privacy he looks to her with LOVE and then says "Go, and sin no more" Love first, lesson second.  

Many churches today are focused on "Don't do this" or "That's EVIL, how dare you DO that and call yourself a believer!" That is not loving!  Yes, there are absolutes, things that are right and wrong. Too often though we take the sin and in our fear of the sin we make everything around it evil.  The Bible clearly states "Do not get drunk on wine" and all of a sudden drinking is a sin. NO- drunkenness is the sin. If drinking was a sin the Bible would say "Do not drink wine" but it doesn't.

Sex outside of marriage is a sin, and therefore we've made sex INSIDE the confines of marriage seem dirty too. It isn't! Sex is a God prescribed act, not only for procreation but to also draw the spouses together. Sex should be fun, crazy, creative, intimate, etc. Yet, it is seen as dirty because when used wrong it is a sin.

I also think of single parents that I know. A lot of them are not single by choice, yet when they show up alone to church, or with their kids and no spouse the church judges. Maybe not out loud, or to their face, but the church judges "Look here comes Sally Mae, did you know that she doesn't have a husband! I just bet I know why!" or "Look at Billy Bob with his two kids, I bet his wife left him because he can't keep his pants zipped." We think those thoughts (or similar ones) and we don't bother to get to know the person. It could be that divorce happened, but it could be that Sally Mae lost her husband in Afghanistan or due to an illness, or maybe he was abusing her and the kids and she got out.

One of my heartbeat issues is abortion. I abhor that it is legal and a daily practice. Yet, as much as I shout my hatred for the ACT, I still love the woman. I know that there are many circumstances where you find yourself between a rock and a hard place and in a time of GREAT emotional upheaval, fear, coercion, etc, you go to the clinic. That isn't going to change my love and respect for you as a person, as a child of our Creator. You need to go and sin no more.

Am I the perfect Christian? GOSH NO! I live with myself and I know that I am an utter failure and totally in need of God's grace and forgiveness, on a daily basis. I screw up and sin all the time. I fail in my quest to perfectly serve my Lord. Yet, that doesn't stop me from trying, from dreaming, from looking and saying THIS NEEDS TO CHANGE! It needs to change in my life and in the church as a whole.

I want to be better, to better reflect Christ, to better serve those that I love and have a heart for. I want to see the church, which I love do a better job. I really want Christ to come back so we can end our struggles and just focus on bowing down and serving our Savior, King, Bridegroom.

Till that, I will shout what I believe, I will continue to dream that we can all grow and learn to focus on what really matters to our Savior, and I will continue to seek His heart & life, so that my heart can reflect His. I will continue to teach my daughter to grow up serving the Lord, and enjoying the Lord.

-JLP-
And with that, I quietly step off my Soapbox! ;-)