You say I'm a hypocritical Christian.
That I judge you.
That I don't want to talk to you.
That I don't care about you.
That I'm not loving because I preach that non-Christians go to hell.
But have you ever once stopped and asked yourself why YOU are judging me?
Have you ever once thought that maybe if we were to talk that you'd find out I'm not the person you think I am?
Because if you did you would find out that I do want to talk to you,
But I'm just shy and introverted.
You would find that I do want to be friends with you,
But that it's hard for me to make friends after being stabbed in the back and abandoned multiple times over by so-called "friends".
And you would find out that I do care about you,
It's just that I've given so much of myself away to people who have only taken from me,
and now I'm afraid to be vulnerable.
And did you ever think that I don't like believing that non-Christians go to hell?
Did you know that my own family is not Christian?
Do you think I like believing that my own loved ones may be eternally condemned?
And did you know my cousin committed suicide?
Do you think I like entertaining the thought that she be suffering in hell right now?
Did you know that for me, my faith may mean that I have to choose between my God and my family?
Did you know all that?
No?
I thought so.
Who the hell are you to judge me?
So don't think you know me when you don't.
You don't know what I've been through.
But I'll tell you why I am a Christian:
Because HE knows me.
And HE knows how I feel.
"If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first" (Jn 15.18). We will be misunderstood, persecuted, ridiculed. The worst part of it is, we will be persecuted by IDIOTS. Most of the time, that burns me more than the persecution itself. It is the contempt that I have for those who speak so foolishly and reason so poorly.
ReplyDeleteBut Christ told us even before he died that this was going to happen, and Paul tells us not to hate it, but to RELISH it. He tells us to wear are persecution as a badge of honor, for it is a sign that we identify with our Lord. "The sorrow of Christ overflows into our lives" (2 Cor 1.5)
Your friend Daniel said most of the things I wanted to say, but wanted to just affirm your thoughts and LOVE that you are standing up for the cross. The speaker at TECBC reminded us that being a follower is full of suffering, but in that we have our Jesus to carry us through. Keep trusting, you can do this Peony!
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