Charisa Stories

Tag: colossians 4:6

  • Is It Time for A Jesus Family Conference about Unity and Love?

    While our three sons were living under our roof there were five words that struck fear in their hearts.

    “Time for a family conference”. 

    I suspect they felt I was being punitive when I called for a conference. The truth is I was pursuing protective love and not punishment. Protective love sees a dynamic that is hurting someone in the family and when one in the family is hurting all of us are hurting. 

    When I see the current dynamics of my universal Christian family I wish I could call a Jesus family conference with a heart of protective love. I see social media posts from friends who identify with Jesus that question the faith of those who disagree with them on social or political issues. That action dims the light of our witness for Christ and gives non-believers ammunition to dismiss our testimony.

    I recently read a social media comment about a person who posted something that they disagreed with.

    “How can they call themselves a Christian if they think that way?”

    I have a couple of thoughts about how that person might call themselves a Christian.

    1. Maybe they believe that Jesus died on the Cross for their sins, rose from the dead, and then provided a path of forgiveness and salvation. That is how I call myself a Christian even on my bad days.
    2. Maybe they are still in the process of spiritual growth and with loving discipleship they might begin to see your point of view (if you are correct). That can be a two-way street. I have changed my heart on a lot of issues since I began my journey over 50 years ago.

    So could that person who drew the judgement be wrong about their political or social beliefs?
    Yep.

    Could the social media judges be wrong?
    Yep.

    Paul talked about the damage done when we condemn other followers of Jesus.

    “So why do you condemn another believer? Why do you look down on another believer? Remember, we will all stand before the judgment seat of God. 11 For the Scriptures say,

    “‘As surely as I live,’ says the Lord,
    ‘every knee will bend to me,
        and every tongue will declare allegiance to God.’”

    12 Yes, each of us will give a personal account to God. 13 So let’s stop condemning each other. Decide instead to live in such a way that you will not cause another believer to stumble and fall.”
    (Romans 14:10-13, NLT)

    There is no condemnation in Christ. I totally understand that there are cultural and political trends that dismay followers of Jesus. I support standing up for Scriptural truth. But I am convicted more than ever that the only way to have an impact is to communicate that truth in love and grace. I believe our priority should be to spread the love and light and hope of the Good News of the Gospel.

    I already know the push back from some readers. They remind me that Jesus got angry and even destructive when he overturned the tables in the Temple. Fair point. So I have compiled a brief survey to complete. Please check each statement that is true about you.

    _____ I have never sinned.

    _____ I know with 100 per cent accuracy the heart and motives of those I disagree with.

    If you can check both of those statements then I will happily grant you the “Jesus Exemption”. For the rest of us I would suggest that we concentrate more on following the words of Jesus.

    “Do to others as you would like them to do to you. If you love only those who love you, why should you get credit for that?” (Luke 6:31)

    Might I remind you that Jesus was constantly triggered by religious people (hypocrites) who did not live what they demanded from others.

    The early church had no chance to “win” the culture war. Instead they built a community of believers that infiltrated the culture with loving service.

    Truth communicated as law will harden hearts. Truth communicated with grace and love has a chance to soften and change them. I have never witnessed one single example of a person persuaded by a Facebook rant. I have seen hundreds hardened in their beliefs (right or wrong) by those tactics. 

    Change happens when God’s love breaks through the hurt and confusion of the past and shows the future hope of grace and forgiveness. I will buy you coffee if you can show when a positive change of heart happened by being harangued and called names. Spiritual change happens when the gentle and quiet voice of the Spirit touches a wounded heart. So my plea to my fellow followers of Jesus is to realize you represent Him when you proclaim your truths in the name of Jesus. If you are representing Jesus you have this standard to follow.

    God blesses those who work for peace,
        for they will be called the children of God. (Matthew 5:9)

    And I might call in Paul for backup at my family conference.

    Don’t use foul or abusive language. Let everything you say be good and helpful, so that your words will be an encouragement to those who hear them. (Ephesians 4:29)

    Let your conversation be gracious and attractive so that you will have the right response for everyone. (Colossians 4:6)

    I know how easy it is to get riled up with social media threads but is name calling a way to represent the love of Jesus? Remember who you represent and respond accordingly. Scripture makes it clear.

    A good person produces good things from the treasury of a good heart, and an evil person produces evil things from the treasury of an evil heart. What you say flows from what is in your heart. (Luke 6:45)

    All followers of Jesus need to prayerfully examine our hearts before we hit send.

  • Twitter Rules from Jesus and Paul

    Twitter Rules from Jesus and Paul

    Social media is depressing. After a taking a recent sanity exit from Twitter a song from my (much) younger days triggered the musing for this week. The song Easy to be Hard was written for the musical Hair but it became a big hit as a cover for Three Dog Night. The lyrics could have been written today about the disappointing interactions on Twitter, Facebook and other platforms.

    How can people be so heartless
    How can people be so cruel
    Easy to be hard
    Easy to be cold.

    I could sing those lyrics almost anytime I cruise through the comments section on Twitter. The dialogue is often mean, unforgiving, and disheartening. I get particularly distressed when people of faith descend to that level of discourse. People who have proudly labeled themselves in their bio as followers of Jesus use language on social media that once would have made a sailor blush. Regular readers of my musings know I am not a purveyor of guilt in my writings. I am just asking a question. Is this the way we should be communicating as a public follower of Jesus?

    One push back I hear is that any words other than taking the Lord’s name in vain are merely words. There is some truth to that. Jesus made it clear that what is in our heart is really the issue. So if you have profanity in your heart you might as well let’er rip. Right? Paul moves from meditation to meddling with these words to the church at Ephesus.

    Don’t use foul or abusive language. Let everything you say be good and helpful, so that your words will be an encouragement to those who hear them. Ephesians 4:29, NLT

    That makes it pretty clear for a Christian. Words do matter. Perhaps the biggest issue is how do Christians, who clearly are called to a higher standard, react to an increasingly coarse culture? It is so easy to get angry and caught up in emotional debates when you are being goaded by an unkind person.

    Here are some more annoying words from Paul to the Colossians.

    Let your conversation be gracious and attractive so that you will have the right response for everyone. Colossians 4:6, NLT

    How do Christians respond to those who oppose them? It is certainly easy and temporarily satisfying to respond in kind. But here is what Jesus said we should do.

    “Love your enemies! Do good to them. Lend to them without expecting to be repaid. Then your reward from heaven will be very great, and you will truly be acting as children of the Most High, for he is kind to those who are unthankful and wicked. You must be compassionate, just as your Father is compassionate. Luke 6:35-36, NLT

    Not a lot of room to rationalize my “righteous” anger. For my fellow followers of Jesus I suggest the following. Set a higher standard but don’t be self-righteous about it. Just live it. Defend your position with intelligent arguments and don’t descend to ugly name calling. Pray for the heart of those who offend you with mean spirited responses. Remember that the battle is the Lord’s and we are called to share His love and the Good News of the Gospel.

    Words matter. A lot. So here is one safe word you can always default to.

    Grace.

    And love them like Jesus. Then you will truly represent the Father as His grateful child. It’s not easy. But it is right.