we are not called to hate

"We are only asked to love, to offer hope to the many hopeless. We don't get to choose all the endings, but we are asked to play the rescuers. We won't solve all mysteries and our hearts will certainly break in such a vulnerable life, but it is the best way. We were made to be lovers bold in broken places, pouring ourselves out again and again until we're called home." - jamie tworkowski

If we say we love God yet hate a brother or sister, we are liars. For if we do not love a fellow believer, whom we have seen, we cannot love God, whom we have not seen. And he has given us this command: Those who love God must also love one another. - 1 john 4:20-21

Jesus doesn't call us to be haters, killers, violent savages, and exploiters...the question is then, why are we doing it?

we say that we love everyone like Christ does, but...

we treat someone struggling with homosexuality as if they aren't human, not allowing them into the church, and treating them much differently from other "straight" people. The same goes for someone who is a prostitute, porn star, or sex worker.

we shy away when someone is chronically disabled (wheelchair bound, autism, retardation, cebral palsy, etc.), we think that it's because of a particular sin of their parents or themselves, because they have not been "healed."

we find out a pastor or church leader is struggling with sin, and we push him/her away, saying they are supposed to be held to a "higher standard", when no one within the church or otherwise helped them stay accountable for thier actions, or even considered the fact that they are human and will have sin nature as well. (I'm convinced the reason that Ted Haggard struggled for 3 years is because he did not have a stategic plan of accountability, and he did not feel comfortable sharing his stuggles with his contemporaries and/or family)

we tell someone who is not a follower of Christ that they are worthless and that we need to "fix them" because they are going to suffer in hell, when in reality it comes off as a really cocky, "we're better than you" mentality.

we claim the reason for not helping the poor and oppressed is because it is "their fault" that they are that way.

we put ourselves in boxes, staying away from the "world", thinking they are "unsavable" or that "they will come to us."

To me it's shocking, because I know that in the Bible:

God used a known prostitute to save the Israelites (Josh 2:1)

Jesus did not condemn a woman caught in adultery (John 8:11)

God used physical suffering without earthly resolve for his Glory (2 Corinthians 12, Job)

Paul admitted that he was actively struggling with sin, but still preached agianst it and acknowledged it's wrong (Romans 7-8)

Jesus never rebuked or expressed hatred toward anyone during his life and ministry, and died for everyone and everything. His love is true love( Romans 5:8; 1 Corinthians 13:4-8)

Jesus proclaims that we will always have the poor with us (John 12:8) and that we should care for the poor no matter what (Luke 14:13).

Jesus teaches that we cannot love just the people we are comfortable with, we have to get our hands dirty and go to them (Matthew 5:45-47)


I find myself struggling with these issues all the time, if not daily. It hurts to know that i am such a selfish person, and i am trying to die to myself and live souly for God, the problem is that in our 20th century Americanized Christianity, we have stripped the teachings of Jesus of thier raw essence, and tweaked them to support our own selfish ideas and philosophies. One of the best quotes i ever heard about the reality of the gospel is buy a very learned man named John Perkins "We cannot change people and then expect to love them. Our love for them must change thier lives."

That is a maxim that i am desperately trying to live my life by. Growing with almost the exact opposite mindset doesn't help me, but it's a process i am trying to work through. death brings life. weakness is strength, and unity is faith.

peace and love,
jeremy