So, the word unfinished means a lot to me these days. One of my favorite pastors, Gary Arnold started a church in New Albany called Unfinished Church. It's every Saturday night, and its unlike any church I've ever known. Their motto is Love God, Love People. And if you think about it, that's Christ command to us as followers.
Luke 10:25-37
The Message (MSG)
Defining “Neighbor”
25 Just then a religion scholar stood up with a question to test Jesus. “Teacher, what do I need to do to get eternal life?”
26 He answered, “What’s written in God’s Law? How do you interpret it?”
27 He said, “That you love the Lord your God with all your passion and prayer and muscle and intelligence—and that you love your neighbor as well as you do yourself.”
28 “Good answer!” said Jesus. “Do it and you’ll live.”
29 Looking for a loophole, he asked, “And just how would you define ‘neighbor’?”
30-32 Jesus answered by telling a story. “There was once a man traveling from Jerusalem to Jericho. On the way he was attacked by robbers. They took his clothes, beat him up, and went off leaving him half-dead. Luckily, a priest was on his way down the same road, but when he saw him he angled across to the other side. Then a Levite religious man showed up; he also avoided the injured man.
33-35 “A Samaritan traveling the road came on him. When he saw the man’s condition, his heart went out to him. He gave him first aid, disinfecting and bandaging his wounds. Then he lifted him onto his donkey, led him to an inn, and made him comfortable. In the morning he took out two silver coins and gave them to the innkeeper, saying, ‘Take good care of him. If it costs any more, put it on my bill—I’ll pay you on my way back.’
36 “What do you think? Which of the three became a neighbor to the man attacked by robbers?”
37 “The one who treated him kindly,” the religion scholar responded.
Jesus said, “Go and do the same.”
At some point, I am sure I will write about my experience with leaving our home church. But one of the reasons we left was because people stopped loving each other. It started with an offence, a small one really. That was never forgiven and grudges held. Things were done in just plain meaness. And my husband I weren't even involved in the matter but the bitterness poisioned the whole church. Our church was on fire for God, started a food pantry and an outreach to the lost. I still remember my pastor warning one Sunday night that the devil was going to attack and to be on the defense. But unfortunately it was he that was holding on to offence. Instead of handling the matter he let it fester and affect is preaching. I think as Christians its our place to be the bigger person. To forgive. But if we can't forgive, we need to approach the person who's offended us and try to work it out. People involved in this matter would just gossip about each other instead of talking to each other. Satan won. That church is so dead right now. It really died this fall before the pastor left.
I write about this to show where we are right now. We left because we were dying spiritually staying in that environment. We are wounded, but healing. I hold nothing against anyone there at this point. I can't say that was true when we left. Trust was broken, people let us down. I believe they didn't mean for all of it to happen the way it did, but it happened regardless. When we finally left, it was like we could breathe again. We could see again. Negativity puts a dark cloud on things.
After leaving, I began to see things clearly. As a Christian to love no matter what. No matter who it is. It's not ok to with hold love ever. And love is an action, not an emotion. Gossip is bad. If you are loving a person, you will talk to them directly. There are so many people in church right now that are in it for the culture. They enjoy the songs. They enjoy Sunday school. They enjoy the pastor's message. But are quick to critize the music and the message if its not what they need. Worship is so much more that just the style of music. You need to keep an open line of communication with God through the week with prayer and reading the Bible. So many want to claim to be a Christian, but they don't realize that the word Christian means follower of Christ. And a follower of Christ is commanded to do two things. Love God first and foremost. And love your neighbor as yourself. That is lost on SO MANY Christians. I see so many posts on Facebook being absolutely hateful towards or President, or illegal immigrants. And those post are coming from Christians. That's not loving people.
1 Corinthians 13:4-10
The Message (MSG)
3-7 If I give everything I own to the poor and even go to the stake to be burned as a martyr, but I don’t love, I’ve gotten nowhere. So, no matter what I say, what I believe, and what I do, I’m bankrupt without love.
Love never gives up.
Love cares more for others than for self.
Love doesn’t want what it doesn’t have.
Love doesn’t strut,
Doesn’t have a swelled head,
Doesn’t force itself on others,
Isn’t always “me first,”
Doesn’t fly off the handle,
Doesn’t keep score of the sins of others,
Doesn’t revel when others grovel,
Takes pleasure in the flowering of truth,
Puts up with anything,
Trusts God always,
Always looks for the best,
Never looks back,
But keeps going to the end.
8-10 Love never dies. Inspired speech will be over some day; praying in tongues will end; understanding will reach its limit. We know only a portion of the truth, and what we say about God is always incomplete. But when the Complete arrives, our incompletes will be canceled.
I am not writing this to condemn anyone. I just know what God has laid on my heart to be right. The last two years I have really grown in Godly knowledge. There are no rules when it comes to being a Christian only than to accept that Christ blood was a sacrafice for your sins. To live your life loving God, and loving people. When you do that, everything else comes into place. You become patient, humble, and loving. You become Christlike. You want to deny every natural impulse to be anything but Christlike. True Christians are not proud, self reliant, or secretly judgemental people... They are chest beating, repentant, head down sinners... Amazed by God's at the glorious wonder of a loving God who extends grace to the undeserving.
