They will, in fact, know us by our love
Lately I’ve been in that place
again where I don’t think my faith can take another hit. I have not stopped
believing in a Jesus who loves me. I have not stopped believing in a God that
does in fact care about me, despite what my often cold, philosophical mind
might try to have me believe. But every so often I get to a place where I just
don’t think I can stand to call myself a Christian anymore. When the message
that my friends hear all around them is one of intolerance and hatred, I have
trouble associating myself with a belief system that has been polluted by venomous
rhetoric.
But every time something brings
me back. This time, I was more aware of my struggle than normal. I knew what I
was feeling, and I understood what caused it. And, in an effort to claw my way
out my valley, I attempted to force my own reconciliation. I sent a cry of help
to my pastors who responded with kindness and understanding. I wanted them to
make me feel better. They did everything right, but it didn’t work.
I tried to lose myself in books written
by wiser people than me. Often these texts have helped me on my journey, and I
thought that they might this time. The words crumbled in my mind, having no
effect whatsoever on my soul’s wellbeing.
I had all but given up.
Then tonight I listened to the
sermon my pastor back home in Birmingham preached this morning. Her words
reminded me why I choose to call myself a Christian. She spoke of why our
church welcomes everyone…because Jesus would. She told us about how she
encountered the hate-filled sermon of Charles Worley this week. After she and
her husband listened, they sat in silence for a moment. Her husband noted that
it was unlikely Sarah would preach the Hell out of anyone, but told her, “You
better get ready to preach the love of God into
us.”
And this is the key to it. This is why I choose to call myself a
Christian. Because in the face of the hatred, of the atrocities that have been
committed throughout history right up to this current time we live in, the
person of Christ is THE example of true, unconditional love. While pastors
across our country are abusing their role and bastardizing scripture, my
pastors, in Nashville, Birmingham, and Charlotte, continue to preach a message
of love in the face of ignorance. More importantly, they are Baptist. Even more
importantly, they are not alone.
The earliest lesson I remember
being taught in Sunday school as a child was the simplest lesson of all: God is
love. And yet it is this lesson that we forget most quickly. It is certainly a
lesson that all of us could do better to remember. We can talk about theological
constructs and the nature of God, and we spout eschatological musings until we
are red in the face. BUT if we forget that which makes our faith worth having,
if we forget that the story of Christ is a story of love, than we are just
talking.
Pastor Sarah reminded me with her
words why I believe what I believe. It took a podcast of a sermon from my old
church 7 hours away to help me reflect. It does not matter if you are gay,
straight, bisexual, transgender, black, white, tall, short, male, female, or
any other descriptor by which you identify. You have a place in the Kingdom of
God. I’m done scratching my mad place, fuming, crying, and acting hurt or
discriminated against.
I am a person of faith, and I
have finally remembered what that means to me. To my friends who are people of
faith but feel as though there is nowhere for them to express that part of
themselves, the link below will take you to a directory of welcoming and
affirming churches across the United States.
Also below is a link to the
sermon my friend and pastor Rev. Sarah Jackson Shelton of Baptist Church of the
Covenant in Birmingham, AL preached this morning. As she reminded us, they will
know us by our love.
May it be so.
Welcoming and Affirming Churches
- http://bit.ly/2lNsjJ
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