| I hesitate to write about that
which I am thinking and struggling
through right now, mainly because I
know that God is growing me and as I
read Scripture my views about
different things begin to
transform. But with that caveat, I
will share...knowing that we are all
growing and learning, even though I
am marked with the blood of Christ
and saved from my sins, I have not
yet "arrived" at perfection here on
this earth. "Life's a process" is
over quoted, but my life, indeed, is
in process. I am learning, and
growing, and life is messy (and like
all messy things it is difficult to
navigate through and see clearly),
and herein you will find my musings
about the messiness I see.....
Life is Messy....
I do not like personality tests,
or spiritual gift tests, or magazine
quizzes or anything that might
attempt to pin me down into one
narrow category. On every one of
those tests, I can look at the 4
possible categories and tell you how
I might fit in to all of them, and
how I don't exactly fit into the one
that they say I fit into. Actually,
often times, I'll end up having a
pretty equal score in almost every
category. And if you're of the
mindset that you really have to fit
into one of those narrow assumptions
about personality, quizzes like this
and results like mine could make you
go crazy. I'm not normal because I
don't fit into one category, you
might think. But what is normal and
who defines it?
As believers, our authority is
God, and we look to His word when it
comes to defining how we ought to
live our life. But so many of us
also have a perceived idea of what a
Christian ought to look and act like
that is not grounded in Scripture.
We can twist Scripture to make it
fit our scenario, making things seem
black and white when Scripture does
not make them this way.
An example I can think of is
this: Piercings. Tattoos. If
someone walked into your church who
was full of them, how would you
treat them? Would you love them or
assume they are strange? Where do
you find this in Scripture? Some
might point to first Corinthians
6:14 and say "your body is a
temple." Yes, that's true. So what
does that mean? No piercings, no
tattoos, no sugar, no junk food, no
McDonalds, no coffee? Where do we
draw the line? And if we feel
convicted in an area (let's say
sugar), do we really have the right
to assume that conviction for every
other believer?
Trust me, this has taken me some
adjusting and some growing, and I
feel like God is challenging me
here. There are some things that
just seem "wrong" to me, but I have
to put cultural biases aside and
think about what Scripture says.
And am I making things black and
white that are meant by God to be
gray? Am I giving people grace in
areas where they are different, or
am I trying to make them fit into a
narrow category just like those
personality tests I hate?
And if people are different, do
we accept them in our churches or
treat them like an outcast? Do we
love them the way Jesus would love
them or assume they are just out of
place? And once they become a
believer, do we give them the time
and the grace to grow up in Christ
in His own timing, or do we expect
them to just "get it right" because
they are now a believer?
Just things I am thinking
about....I wanted to get you all
thinking about them too.
E-mail me with your thoughts, as
always. :) |
