Skeptics + Doers

I see the church divided into two camps this year.
1- THE SKEPTICS. The critics.
2- And the doers. The people that risk it all for the gospel and put it out there, regardless of how they might be viewed.

I am so tired of the accusations within the Body of Christ. Taking up arms against each other for our opposing viewpoints! It’s like watching a beautiful bride stab herself repeatedly in the arm. Oh Lord Jesus.

Perhaps you, like me, have wondered: Where is Jesus in this? If He were here on earth, who would he be be fighting for? Where would we find Him?
If you’re pondering that right now, look at the gospel.

Jesus didn’t come to DIE and SUFFER for only our physical comfort + safety on earth.
He came to redeem. To heal the sick. To seek and save the lost. Nothing is more important than human souls.

Do you think that can merely be done behind a phone screen? Sometimes. Certainly some DMs can be glory streams of goodness.

But far more often we question, compare and CRITICIZE. We judge and condemn. I do it too. I don’t want to condemn you either, but to ask that we ALL consider our own motives and actions.

Let’s take our pulse here, a moment.

Do you feel upset about seeing someone preaching or praising God publicly in a group? (Mask issue aside- that one is for another day- I am just talking about publicly gathering to praise God.)

Does that make you feel angry…. or annoyed, considering the state of the world right now, feeling that such things are a horrible witness to Christ and to loving others? Fair point!

Most concerns I hear raised are valid and worth asking. But hold up there a moment….

That is usually where the conversation stops. Rolling eyes. Throwing someone and their ministry under the bus. Criticizing them. All from the comfort of your own cozy home or office.

Perhaps we’ve all had moments of this. But if that’s you right now, may I just ask:

What are YOU doing, exactly? 

How are you serving people? How are you pursing SOULS? If the way that someone else serves God in pursuit of salvation for the lost, bothers you… are you taking action in a “better” way? Or just criticizing from afar in the comfort of your own complacency?

I really am curious… does loving people really look like hiding from them? Viewing them as a liability? What does loving someone’s soul look like in a pandemic?

The facts are these, whether we like it or not, people are on a trajectory to heaven or hell. Some are catapulting towards demise and suffering… Are you ok with that?

This year has been HOPELESS to so many. People are living in bondage, and only Jesus truly can save and heal. Depression and anxiety are at an all time high- and we have hope to share.

That looks like action. Action will be different for each person… thank God. An infirm elderly sister I know wages war against the enemy in prayer from her bedside. A young friend of mine preaches the gospel and prays healing for sick strangers on the street. Both are actions in the kingdom of God that BUILD and do not tear down.

I might not agree with the method of each approach, perhaps there is a better way. But I am no judge. I don’t want to be found condemning anything that brings salvation and hope to the masses. 

I’d rather error on the side of praising God publicly as long and as loud I can. And inviting many people to join me.

Love pursues.

Love is active.

Love sacrifices pleasing MAN and ticking boxes, to go off the paved road and pursue the lost, no matter how inconvenient. And for ALL of us to stop criticizing the (imperfect) church, but to be DOERS. 

“Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like someone who looks at his face in a mirror and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like.

But whoever looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues in it—not forgetting what they have heard, but doing it—they will be blessed in their DOING.”

James 1:22-26

Oh Jesus help me, help us to SEE.