Church is not a country club - Lent Day 16

Just to add AGAIN there are no prerequisites for God's love. To often the followers of Jesus, myself included, have added preconditions on just who is "lovable" and who isn't. Christ didn't....he sat, ate, had fellowship with people in broken places. ( prostitutes, tax collectors, etc) Why don't we...believers....the "salt and light" follow suit?



To often churches have a country club mentality. Lately I've been convicted on this. If you're a christian and reading this how many non-believing friends do you have? Are you investing your relational time solely in like minded people? Are you shying away from people because they're rough around the edges, hardened, or deemed not worth it? Because they don't believe like you? They may ask you questions and probe into your faith?



Sometimes the church is a place where you have to appear a certain way, pretend like you're perfect, and admit to no failures. You just can't come as you are. If you do there are plenty of people who will "clean you up. " Obviously a church should be where God's truth is upheld, preached, and taught.... but to often it seems like the people in church are worried about absorbing people into church culture rather than letting God change the hearts of people.


It's my growing aim to love anyone for where they are at and let God do the rest. This is not an easy task in my life. I do believe my faith in Christ to be a saving one, I also believe it's not me who saves them but the Grace of God through Christ. That same grace gives the repentant heart a new nature. In the end it's up to the individual to decide to take His grace or not. However I am still commanded to love regardless if a person accepts it or not. I am equally still commanded to not be ashamed of the gospel of Jesus Christ, even at the risk of not being liked.



Matthew 5:46-48 (NLT)


46 If you love only those who love you, what reward is there for that? Even corrupt tax collectors do that much. 47 If you are kind only to your friends,
how are you different from anyone else? Even pagans do that.



Romans 1:16 (NIV)
16 I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile.