What would Jesus do?

There has been so much lately centered around the phrase “what would Jesus do?” and I saw it on Facebook this morning by a friend who has had some recent struggles in his walk with the Lord, and it made me stop and think about how do I feel about it all?  This may be a bit disjointed, so bear with me… 

I’ve had several friends quit the faith recently….made radical jumps to a different walk, albeit a much looser, tamer, “easier” walk I suppose – even heard some say they felt “free”…well I suppose if you take all your clothes off and walk thru your yard you would feel “free” but that doesn’t mean it’s the recommended thing to do.   The one common thread that these friends have is that they feel they are persecuted because so many of us have expressed our angst over their recent behavior modifications.   They express dismay at having been “looked down upon” by those of whose who have said “hey friend, you’re wrong”.  They have said that those of us who remain faithful to the commitment to live the way God has said we should live are being self righteous. It’s almost like a tug-o’-war, the believers against the "ex"-believers.

When I saw that little comment this morning about what would Jesus do, it made me stop and think…what did He do?  Yes, He did speak to sinners and Godly men alike. He did go home with sinners, had His feet washed by a prostitute, gave them brand new starts and forgave their past sins. But He also told them to go and sin no more. He didn’t support them in their adultery or whatever it is they were doing….he loved them, forgave them, and told them not to do it again.  Where that differs with the dissidents of today is that they don’t believe it’s necessary to change their ways, because they are convinced that God loves them no matter what, so they aren’t really sinning.  While yes, I totally agree with them in that He loves them no matter what, I disagree with them broadly on the other part…they are totally forgetting about the “go and sin no more” part.  So to fit this into their conscious, they have convinced themselves that whatever they are doing is OK, God wasn’t really against it all along, like they were taught in the past.  A lot of these things are moral issues like adultery, drinking, smoking, cursing, hanging out in bars, pants, makeup, cutting of women’s hair, shorts, etc etc etc, although much of it is also just great disregard for God's vindicated Prophet.  Somehow they have rationalized that these things aren’t really that big of a deal, and has nothing to do with their walk with God. I disagree though; I think it has everything to do with their walk with God!  That being said, I don’t believe just because you do these things, you are Heaven bound. However, I believe if you are Heaven bound, and you have been shown the Light of the Word and know the truth, you will do these things out of love for Christ....in other words, because you want to, not because you have to. 

So then I started thinking about my reaction to these friends of mine…I have recently made several attempts to reach out and just say hello to some of the ones who have turned away from the Word of God.  I wanted them to know I still loved them and cared about them even though I no longer fellowship with them. But as I was perusing Facebook this morning, and saw comment after comment on this very subject, it made me think about what exactly my stand is, and how do I express it?  There is such a common theme out there, it’s really fairly easy to tell which ones are the ones who have walked away from the faith in God’s Word and This Message his prophet brought us…..you know them because they are usually whining about someone not speaking to them, not hanging out with them, someone condemning them, and how un-Christian like the so-called Christians really are.  What’s ironic about that is most of these folks who have made these comments are the ones who have walked away from the Word and the Believers, and are angry because someone had the gall to say to them “hey dude, you’re wrong and you better be careful.” That is all it takes to send them off on a tirade about what would Jesus do, and then they list the scriptures that they found about forgiveness and love, etc.  Oddly enough though, they don’t post the scriptures where Jesus talks about adultery, uncleanliness, women’s apparel (boy, I’ve heard ALL kind of twists on that one!), worldly living, etc…they don’t post the Scriptures that condemn them, they only post the ones that preach love and forgiveness.  Absolutely Jesus is a God of love and forgiveness. But He also is the same God who called the Pharisees a bunch of snakes and hypocrites! He also is the God who angrily wiped out a marketplace in the temple because of what they were doing.  Jesus cast demons OUT of people – He didn’t hang out with the people AND their demons!   

  I was not a Christian for many years….I knew better, but I selfishly lived for me and didn’t think God really cared about whether or not I served Him.  I know what it’s like on the other side, and I know the Grace that caught my falling soul and looked beyond my faults and saw my needs. And He changed me.  I didn’t change myself; I couldn’t; He did the work in me. And still is working on me.  So I DO know what it’s like to be on the flip side of that coin. And yes, I even had a friend openly walk away from me through all that….ironically that same friend eventually ended up cheating on her husband and leaving him for another woman’s husband. Strange how things turn out.

I remember trying to rationalize all that I was doing….tried to find the loopholes…in my mind I thought I found some, but in reality it was just me trying to excuse my behavior without feeling overly guilty about it. It never worked though…I could never escape the condemnation. Not until I was set free by the Love of God, and He changed me….now there is NO more condemnation! (which I remind Satan on a regular basis when he tries to remind me of my past.)They say you learn from your past. One thing I have learned from my past is that you can’t be half in and half out. You can’t straddle the fence, with one leg in the world and one leg serving the Lord. It never works. You’re never fulfilled; there will always be something missing until you give everything, (and give UP everything) to Him. That’s the key I missed for so long….I kept a lot of those doors to my heart locked and didn’t give Christ access to them….it doesn’t work.  I feel like maybe that’s what some of these other folks are doing….giving up some things, holding onto to others, all in the name of 'Jesus loves me'. Yes, He does, but what about the laws and commandments of God? Grace doesn’t annihilate His commandments.

I don’t really know what the answer is about all this….I’ve seen some say “draw the circle bigger”…well, ok….but to include what?  To accommodate what? Sin??   Can’t I care about you and disagree with you at the same time?  Why does my dislike for your actions bespeak to you of ill will and hatred?  Why do I have to like everything you do?  You didn’t care much before if I didn’t like the same kind of pizza you liked, or thought the car you drove was a rat trap. I wasn’t a “ pizza hater” then, or a "car hater", but now that you are committing adultery, I’m off the grid because I shouldn’t have an opinion about that, and if I do, I’m being a hater and not a real Christian.   What????  That thought process is not even logical.

I’m tired of all this….I’m tired of the burden being on me to try to convince someone I love them, just because I took a stand and said 'hey dude, you shouldn’t do this'. If I can have an opinion about the kind of pizza you’re having and that’s alright, why am I not entitled to an opinion about your living conditions without being labeled a hypocrite or a hater?   See how ridiculous all this is?   If I know someone is having pizza with olives and anchovies and they invited me over to eat some, I would have to gently say no thank you, I prefer not to eat pizza with anchovies and olives. I don't have to clarify that i still love them. But somehow it's gotten to the point that if I don't care to hang out with those that commit adultery, heresy, or whatever they are doing that's against God's Word, I'm expected to do something to convince them that I do really love them in spite of it all. Well I do! But I'm having serious issues with bearing the burden of proof of that.   

(Besides, nobody's knocking down my door trying to talk to me, but I’m persecuted because I’m not doing that with them?? )  Satan is the master of illusion, and he has created an illusion of self-grandeur to these folks, and only God will be able to “unblind” them. 

I just think I'm tired of trying to prove myself, or my loyalty, or my love, to someone who didn't seem to need proof for the past 20 years, but now all of a sudden that's in question. Makes me seriously question their loyalty. So I've decided I'm just going to be me. It's not in my nature to intentionally step on toes, but if I have to in order to remain faithful to God's Word, then so be it.  I can LOVE and not "like" I have decided. They can accept it or not...it's up to them. 

Ciao

(Stepping off soap box now....)