after Mark Sanchez butt fumbled, did you stop watching football. how ‘bout when JR Smith was lost in never never land in the NBA finals, did you stop being a basketball fan then? when your favorite band sold out after they lost their unique flavor and reached their peak, did you renounce them?
“nah, Ryan. that stuff didn’t hurt me personally.”
oh, ok. so when your favorite politician failed to keep their promise, did you still vote for that party? when your mom didn’t attend your soccer games and missed your high school graduation, or after dad failed to teach you how to be a man, did you no longer identify as a member of that family?
I’m willing to bet, y’all still are avid sports fans, who still throw on that nostalgic album, who still vote left or right despite the nomination, and who still go by the same last name despite crummy parents.
so would you please answer me one question: why in the world do we treat Jesus and His Church any different?! the moment a Church body don’t play your fave Hillsong jams: DEUCES. the moment your pastor makes a mistake and says something hurtful from the pulpit: DEUCES. the moment a sex scandal arises: BYE FELICIA. the moment evil things are done in the name of Jesus: DEUCES JESUS. the moment you meet a hypocrite in a Christian tee: CHECK PLEASE!. the moment you’re judged: HASTA LUEGO IGLESIAS.
why? you stick it out with everything and everyone else. why abandon Jesus and/or the Church so easily? well, I got my petty theories and one is that the margin for error is MAD SMALL. like, unrealistically small. people are quick to recognize that followers of Jesus aspire to a higher code of morality and purity. true. so they expect particular behavior. fair. but what they be forgetting is Jesus followers are just as jacked up as them!
why you think the religious teachers of Jesus’ day were trying to trap Him left and right? because of who He claimed to be and who He claimed to be sent by. you see, the moment you declare Jesus as your Lord you got a fat target right on your back. your unbelieving blood family members gonna rip you to shreds the moment you slip up.
I ain’t trying to be insensitive to real hurt. real spiritual abuse is the ugliest, most wretched form and I wrote about it in my book. I just don’t understand the selective approach to ditch Jesus and the Church but stick with everyone else in your life who disappoints you. it don’t add up. be true across the board or not at all. Church is the people who gonna bruise you at times and care for your bruises other times. they gonna wound ya one moment and stitch you up the next. funny, sorta sounds like a big messy family…I get it. commitment to a family is scary cause’ you worried you gonna get hurt. I can jibe with that.
but man, y’all trippin if you think Jesus is the same way. He ain’t got a dose of disappointment in His blood. He don’t know how to hurt or how to wrong except to BECOME THE HURT FOR OUR WRONGS! Yeshua is my best friend, man. and the only one I’ve ever got who never let me down. so ya know, you really should stop putting Him in the same box as the Church for that matter and give Him a chance. act on that and you’ll have surprises for days.
-r.w
