Thursday, January 31, 2013

The Gospel of Love

At A&M, every year, this one guy and his wife come and stand in the central area of campus and carry on about how everyone is going to hell.  They particularly like to focus on sex, but any sort of sin will do for them to rant and rave about. And every year, a crowd of people forms around them and watches all day to hear what this guy--Brother Jed--is talking about (the wrath of God, the condemnation of our souls, etc).

Frankly, it's pretty frustrating.

Here's the deal, y'all. Brother Jed and I both believe in an all-powerful God who will be the one to pass the ultimate judgment. But I'm pretty sure that's where the similarities stop. Where he uses the fear of hell to scare people to run to a God who just sits up on his throne and condemns people (according to Jed), I try (operating word) to show people the God who, yes, passes judgment, but he also loves. Call me crazy, but I kind of don't think that anyone who gets yelled at for being a sinner by some dude who doesn't know he/she isn't going to be real receptive to whatever the angry man is saying about them. I know I wouldn't be.

Brother Jed is showing only a small part of God's judgment--and not even well. But Jed is far from perfect and the only person who can judge anyone else is God because he IS perfect. Jed is doing an excellent job, however, of making Christianity a mockery. He's embodying everything that non-Christians don't like about Christians: judgmental, rude, loud, opinionated, self-righteous. And we only encourage his behavior by circling around him and listening to what he's saying. 

This afternoon, there was a guy standing about 100 yards from Jed. This guy was speaking truth. Granted, he was going about it the same way Jed was--yelling. But I walked by him slowly and listened. This dude knew the Bible and everything that he was talking about was good stuff. I don't necessarily agree with the tactic, but I agree with his intentions. Jed is, from my observations, a modern day false prophet. Or like the pharises from the New Testament who just blurt things out and try to make their own rules. But why weren't people listening to this other guy instead of Jed? Because there were more theatrics in the latter? Because what this other guy was saying was actually truth?

I'm not bashing preaching. I take the Great Commission seriously when Christians are told to go out and make disciples and I think those spiritual leaders who devote their lives to the holy word of God are necessary. But is all this fire-and-brimstone fanfare the right way to go about it? I'm not inclined to think so. If anything, it's turning people away from God.

Our God is wrathful, yeah, because the world is messed up. But he solved the problem by sending his flawless son Jesus Christ to come die on the cross. Jesus lived in an imperfect world but was totally perfect. And he died to take the blame for every single sin that would ever be committed ever. God's wrath against humanity was unleashed on Jesus Christ so that we wouldn't have to take the hit for our own failures. As one of my favorite songs puts it "the wrath of God was satisfied/for every sin on Him was laid/here in the death of Christ, I live". Why did he do this? Because we are so desperately loved that God couldn't bear the thought of being separated from humanity. He was willing to sacrifice someone who had never screwed up in order that the rest of humanity may have hope of life after earth in a Heaven, together with God forever.

That's what Jed should be preaching. Not about hell and death and torture and why we're going to experience that if we don't "turn or burn".

My God is just, but Jesus already took the heat. Now, he's about forgiveness, grace, and unconditional love.

Wednesday, January 23, 2013

So this year already...

We're 23 days into 2013--the year that wasn't supposed to exist. And it's already promising to be quite an adventure. Here's why.

1. It's house hunting season in College Station y'all. That means people are going crazy and our nice college town is well on it's way to becoming a shark tank. So far, I've looked at a few houses that I like, each with their ups and downs. The current focus is sort of a fixer-upper, but nothing a power sprayer, an extra layer of paint on the front door, and some shrubbery can't fix. I'll keep you posted on that one though.

2. I'm going to London this spring break. So that will be pretty neat. But also requires me to get all my ducks in a row and keep them there. My ducks are typically all over the place. I guess I'll keep you posted on that too.

3. Impact counselor applications, interviews, and rev nights are coming up in the next 2 weeks. I feel like Impact is where I'm supposed to be and I have such a heart for it, but the Lord works in mysterious ways, so we'll see! One more thing I'll keep you posted on.

4. Oh hey. So A&M is ranked #2 in the preseason college football standings. That is something we'll all get to wait and see on. Gig 'em.

5. Speaking of A&M's football team, we have a pretty awesome quarterback. Won the Heisman as a freshman. It's fine. And this little English nerd/sports fanatic happened to run into him in an elevator and took a picture with him. So that's something that my great-grandchildren will know about and have the picture of. Yes world, I have a picture with Johnny Manziel. Bask in my excellent timing and knowledge of football and rare moment of boldness.

6. This semester will probably be crazy. But I have a few things keeping me going. London. My picture with Johnny Football. And, above all, the knowledge that God is good.

So reader, I'll keep you posted.

Sunday, January 20, 2013

2012 in review

Sorry I've been so bad at blogging y'all. I blame finals, work, and Netflix.

Anyways. Here's my recap of 2012 in a nutshell.

It started rough. Rejections from 4 camps was not the most prime way to start a year, but the Lord was quick to show me his faithfulness in giving me Impact. Spring semester was defined by resting in how I was being so cared for by my friends, family, and God. Namely God. Impact was a huge blessing to me because it renewed a hope that I'd lost and pulled me off the wandering road I was on.

Spring ended and summer began. New lessons came in the form of patience, tolerance, and confidence. When you work somewhere that doesn't have a strong Christian basis, it's going to make you adapt and make a choice: follow Christ or slip into the world. And after having a semester where I was totally surrounded by people who were sold out for Christ, it was a bit of a culture shock. I was asked to go party several Saturday nights and had to explain why I didn't drink. I had to make sure that I wasn't being rude to people I didn't like and not complaining about things I disagreed with. As for confidence...let's just say that I was reaffirmed of my socially acceptable personality and started seeing myself through the Lord's eyes and not my own.

Impact began on August. FINALLY. After preparing all spring semester and all summer, I met the freshman I'd been praying for over the past 8 months. And they were worth the wait. My fellow counselors and I were blown away by how open they were to listening to us and wanted to hang out with us. The Lord has been so good in helping me to keep relationships with the freshman who I can now call my friends. They're awesome and I've seen God do some awesome things in their lives.

Fall semester was another semester of figuring out college. I rested in Christ more than ever and was peaceful, joyful, and hopeful. I also learned that dropping a class was okay. Who knew? The Lord also was constant in reminding me how I was lovable--he wouldn't die for someone who wasn't. Am I right? And my living situation took a turn from "good" to "excellent" as I moved into an apartment with 3 of my closest friends, where not wearing pants is acceptable and you must have all the songs of "Pitch Perfect" memorized. Obviously, I befriended the right group of girls. Beyond them, my friend group continued to grow and our activities became more hilarious (see "the great apartment rearrangement" story for example). I would say "blessed" is an understatement.

So now we're at 2013 and it's promising to look like an excellent year. I'm pumped to see where the Lord will take me (He's shown me a few snippets already) and how I'm going to grow this year.

There's my sappy wrap-up post. I'll keep ya posted.