1: I know that I’m horribly judgmental of Christians. I’m not sure whether this is okay or not. Some Christians think it’s wrong to judge anyone. Others think we can only judge those IN the church, since Paul said that God would take care of those OUTside the church. (1 Cor. 5:12-13) But that bothers me too. I don’t have the answer, and I know its wrong of me to have this awful “bent” towards Christians…but I do. It’s there. Maybe it’s because I’ve lived my whole life being judged by my fellow believers, so it’s just the natural thing to reciprocate. Maybe I’m so hard on Christians because I feel like we’re sometimes a big fat farce, hiding behind the name of Jesus.
Whatever the reason behind it may be…I’m pretty sure it’s not okay. I have this awesome compassion for un-churched people. For sinners and screwups. But I can’t turn that same compassion onto my fellow believers. It’s like it’s not there. I’m starting to think that that is really hypocritical of me. I can accept that Jesus loves the least of these…but have a problem thinking about Him being okay with His own followers? The people who have actually chosen Him? Yeah, that’s messed up. I’ve got to get over that. Because period dot, end of story, Jesus died for everyone. He loves us all. Prostitute or Deacon. Worship Leader or Drug dealer. Homosexual or Youth Pastor. If I truly want to love like He does, and I do, then I gotta lay down my prejudices about the people He’s called to His service. Even if they do act like donkey butts half the time.
2: Right on the heels of that observation, is this: I’ve been viewing God through the pain and bitterness I feel towards His people. Now is that just the most stupid thing you’ve ever heard?
I was riding home the other night when I realized it. I can’t remember what spurred the thought, but it hit me that I wasn’t being fair to God. When Jesus came and took sin upon Himself, the ugly haze that covered up the world’s inhabitants was lifted. No more dirty filter. All God saw was this tremendous love for us.
And here I am, putting my own nasty filter over my eyes, and having the audacity to look at God through it. Who do I think I am? God didn’t do anything to me, yet I’m putting the sins of others on Him!?! That’s not going to get me anywhere! It’s no wonder my relationship with Him has been off kilter the past year or so. I haven’t been looking at Him right. I haven’t been viewing Him in all His Divine glory! I’ve been dressing Him in the clothes scraped off the Goodwill dressing room floor, and wondering why He’s not performing the way I think He ought to! I now see that my view of God has hindered the actions of God in my life. That has to stop. I can’t hope to get anywhere if I won’t let God really and truly do His thing.
3: In this big production called “Life”, I feel like God is the all-too-often-forgotten Stage Manager. He keeps everything running smoothly. He handles the props, costumes, lights, curtains, music, and even gives people their lines when they forget them. There can be horrible calamities that happen backstage, but He handles them all and somehow turns them into an awesome part of the performance.
Yet He gets no credit. The paparazzi don’t follow Him. Fans don’t clamor for His autograph. Magazines don’t call for interviews. Award shows pass Him over when making their nominations.
Sure, the actors and actresses know the hard work that He puts into it. They send flowers, wine, and chocolates to His office as a token of their gratitude.
But all of this happens in private. He has created the stage upon which they play, but when the spotlights go off, they forget about Him.
My eyes have been opened lately, and I’ve seen God doing all this awesome stuff in the background of people’s lives. Making connections, working out details, opening doors…all this stuff that we don’t even see half the time. But it’s been done. We got into that school. We bought that car. We moved into that new place. We got that promotion. We were offered that internship. All these wonderful little details that make the stage of our life more alluring, and we chalk it up to fate. We forget that our past and our future rest in the hands of one kick booty Stage Manager.
Let’s give credit where credit is due people. Let’s bring God to center stage and make Him take a bow. Turn the spotlights on and give Him a standing ovation. Because face it…our lives just couldn’t be that beautiful if He didn’t have a hand in it.
Here’s to You, God.
