An Open Letter To The World

An Open Letter To The World:

I have been thinking about writing something like this for some time now.  It’s a message to the world that needs to be spoken.  This morning during my prayer and journal time, I felt as though God laid it on my heart.  Today is the day.  The timing is perfect and this is the message I need to share and I need to apply to my life as well.

Christians are not perfect, but we are not the enemy.  The Christian faith has just as many extremists as any other faith.  The far right legalistic or judgmental Christians may not resort to violence, but sometimes the damage that can be done is almost as impactful.  The legalistic and “holier than thou” movement in the church is 50% responsible for the decline of faith in this country. 

Christians are not the enemy!  Most of us are just like everyone else.  We have a deep love for humanity and are grateful that we received the gift of life and we have the hope of salvation through Jesus.  We have our faults and we sin daily.  A true Christian knows that He/She sins daily.  The Word clearly states that Jesus is the only man without sin. 

I would like to apologize personally for those in my faith and myself over the years if we have made others feel less than adequate or unworthy.  We are all unworthy compared to Jesus.  Our Father knew that we were unable to live up to the expectations and commandments.  He knew after creating man and woman and putting them in the Garden and giving free will, we were not capable of living without sin.  Does this mean we have a free pass to sin and live as we want?  That is up to interpretation, but the Bible clearly says in Philippians 2:12, “now more than ever, work out your salvation with fear and trembling.”

I am responsible for my own salvation as are you.  My problem with you the world…is that you don’t necessarily want salvation.  I want to change that.  I want you to believe in God, accept His love and gift of eternal life.  What do you have to lose?  What exactly do any of us have to change about ourselves to accept God’s love?  We can come to His cross bearing all of our burdens just as they are.  Repenting of things that are not right in our lives comes with time and on our own timetable.  This is where we as Christians make the mistake.  We demand and preach so much about sin…not every sin…only the ones that apply to others.

Last summer when the Chick-Fil-A fiasco hit the national press, Ministers everywhere were taking to the pulpit and preaching fire and brimstone about homosexuality.  The Bible clearly states that homosexuality is an abomination.  It also clearly states the same about fornication of any kind (including straight people shacking up).  It speaks with the same authority about gluttony (don’t get me started on how much Americans eat…and our national weight problem).  God’s Word condemns gossip, alcoholism, addiction, idolatry, coveting, theft, murder, divorce (brace yourself), worry, judgment, and many more.  The point I am trying to make…we all live in sin!

The beautiful message about God’s Word is that it is for all of us.  Regardless of what I say, Billy Graham, or anyone else you might look to for spiritual guidance.  For some of us, we stumble across unwanted spiritual guidance all the time.  Some of you may be fuming at this message in fact, but the point remains, you are no closer to Heaven than I and I no closer than you.  How much do you want to get there?

I believe when we accept Jesus as our Savior, the Holy Spirit then dwells in us and this is what helps us to mature and progress as a Christian.  It is the full armor of God that we read about in Ephesians 6:11.  Once we believe and accept God, the process begins to shape us into the person He wants and requires us to be.

Certainly a group of Christians have the right to determine whom they want to worship with and how they want the services to go.  God also lays out some pretty clear plans about what is expected in our service to Him, but it is up to you to interpret that in your own life.  Sister Sally Sue has no right to tell you that you are a stumbling block in her life and you can’t worship with her, here or there, etc.  The Bible does give her permission to come to you with concerns, etc.  When she presents her case, if you don’t agree, if she continues to judge you based on her (or someone else’s) interpretation, she is in fact judging…and therefore sinning. 

Read God’s Word and let it flow through you.  If you believe it has been inaccurately translated over the years, then look in your heart and meditate on what message God is telling you.  It will happen.  You will know what is right in time.  You see Sally Sue is not responsible for your salvation.  Take what she says constructively but don’t allow it to become your excuse for not studying, worshiping or serving your Lord. 

The other 50% of the fault for why this country has lost a grip on its faith is the worldly people.  We cannot lose our spiritual stance.  Stop using the excuse that Christians are fanatics and don’t understand this or that.  Stop allowing those “extremists” to stand in the way of your salvation.  You are accountable to God, not the local congregation. 

It took me a long time to realize that man is wrong.  I should not put my faith in people just because they have read the Bible more times than me.  For many years I believed it was not possible for me to go to Heaven because I was manic-depressive.  I have been told that living in worry would keep me from God’s kingdom.  Have you allowed the teachings of others to come between you and God?  Men are human.  We rarely have the ability to call our sin exactly what it is…we would much rather call your actions sin.  Think about this when you are in a discussion with someone else.  When you are talking about your vice, whether it is drugs, sex, or gambling and you are being schooled by an overweight person, their sin is just as great as yours.  A person who has a medical condition that causes them to gain weight is no different than a person who has a condition that causes them to be an addict.  Both can be medical.  Man has no right to say one is worse than the other.  No right whatsoever.  Medical rationale may demonstrate one is worse than the other, but sin is sin..stop ranking it people!  There is but one Judge!

The only way we are going to make a positive impact on this nation is to open our hearts and minds.  All sin is wrong and all sin is deadly, but there is life in the Father’s bosom.  You, me or anyone else can’t put a timeline or requirements on a person to determine when they are “officially saved” or not.  It is personal and it is between that person and God. 

My New Year’s resolution is about love not hate.  I believe that I can be a better man if I concentrate on improving me…not you.  So in this open letter at the end of 2013, I am asking you to do the same.  Give God a chance and if you are already a Christian don’t stand in the way of a tender soul that you know nothing about other than their sin, I will not stand in anyone’s way again, but I will share the beauty and glory of what it means to me to be a child of God.  I will focus on the love and positivity. Dear World…please give God a chance, I beg you.

Love to you all.

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