Our Hangout

...don't know if I am taking this on the wrong track, but last night I was reading the chapter in Max Lucado's "Next Door Saviour"? on the time that Mathew became a disciple.
If I understood the crux of the chapter, Jesus prefered to hang out with those who were not saved .. with the analogy that a doctor can't cure an already healthy person, only the sick.

I've got a lesbian friend and it's the hardest thing to accept her and still show some degree of displeasure because of the immorality. But I can basically hang with friends who are addicted to cigarettes and only mention my views when the topic comes up so maybe I should be unafraid to hang with her without bringing it up regularly. I'm learning as I go. I blew it a couple of times but she forgave me when I asked, cause she's been losing all her friends since coming out.

thanks for sharing that Trish!

What does acceptance mean? (Here I go, getting all Rabinic again.) Does it mean "I'm okay, you're okay (implying we both agree that our differences are right and good?") Or does it mean something more like "agreeing to disagree." Sounds like mom was saying, like Christ did, I accept you, but i do not condone your conduct. Sounds like the daughter wanted her to accept, in the manner of "Agreeing with" the conduct. Acceptance has to mean that we "accept" that we don't all have the same positions and despite that we press ahead in relationship.

Obviously the show had an angle...and the angle...from what I saw was that when "Christians" say "I can still love you" that love comes with conditions...now I know that's not what we're saying...but that's what's being heard.

Which raises the question...is the issue about "saying it" or is it about "showing it". And how does that look? Again the show had an angle, that in general isn't too far from the truth...ie. the line between loving sinner and hating sin isn't as obvious as we like to make it and often because of being so consumed with hating the sin, Christians don't do a very good job of loving the sinner, because it's often not very easy to separate the two.

I agree with your conclusion rebecca...still I think Christians have to do a little better in the area of loving people and not the sin. That means building a relationship on loving actions towards people and relating to them in ways that raise their value as people - even if their actions are not always in line with God's heart. But why would we expect them to be?

I don't know whether that makes much sense...it does in my head, but I'm still processing.

Just a thought.... a sin is a sin, is a sin. Does God measure any one sin as bigger and heavier than any other?
Is there anyone out there, Christian or no, without sin?
Considering these, it seems that the answer would be easy. Just love.
Seems easy enough, but reality is we humans are not capable of the same unconditional love that God is. Yet He asks us to try. He commands us to. He doesn't command us to accept, just to love.
It is hard, with our human minds and limitations to understand or know the answers to this dilemna. What seems grey to us, must surely be black or white to Him.
Nope, no answers here. But lets keep looking for them and doing our best to love.

Tony Campolo gave a great example of how to show acceptance. It was a long time ago I heard this story but this is what I remember. He went to a coffee shop late at night and a number of prositutes hung out there. He overheard that one of them was having a birthday the following day. After the girls left, he asked the owner if those girls came every night. The answer was yes. So the next night, he showed up at the same time and had prepared a party for the one girl. I think there was something about talking to the girl the night before or overhearing how no one cared about her anymore. So in having a party for her, he showed that he cared and that God cared about her. Her choices he didn't agree with but we have to show love in order to have them open to what we have to say. Just a thought...

Jenn that's a great story...and it was an incredible show of grace on his part...he didn't expect anyone to change before he loved him totally unconditionally...when they found out he was a preacher they asked him, what kind of a God do you serve...and his answer..."a God that throws birthday parties for prostitutes at three o'clock in the morning." To which the owner of the establishment said..."I could follow a God like that! or something similar to that."

Here's the point...when it comes to faith does belief or belonging come first. If you have to believe before you can belong that means you must be changed first (get yourself right). Tony C. showed a different approach where people belong before they believe...do you think those prostitutes would be willing to listen to what he would have to say about God's love for them and his kingdom? I think they would. Love and grace are the greatest tools (bad word - but for lack of a better one) that we have with which to impact our world.