Light in the Dark
"You only know there's a light ...
because of darkness"
Is there hope? In today's society we are faced with so many false prophets, watered-down versions of the gospel, and strict cultural beliefs. There are so many little details in our everyday lives that seep into our minds, our feelings, and our hearts that can completely turn us 360 from the gospel. This morning I had to ask God is there hope... "will your people find the way or is this it?" Certain religious views say dreads, tattoos, make -up, fake hair, and jewelry are not for christians... we are to be simple people if we want to follow Christ; we should have no desires for wealth or extravagant things. Those who are less religious say to be of the world to change the world... dress the way they dress, do what they do, go where they go, and act how they act, but be sure to add Christ so they may receive the Lord and know that we are in fact different. These two opposing views on mixing Christianity with tradition, culture, societal views, moral standards, and modern trends are so extreme that it is hard to depict what exactly we are to follow. It has definitely left me scratching my head wondering if it is these very same differences in thoughts that leave us believers separated instead of in unison like the Lord requires. We want to be so firm on every little detail in the Christian walk that we become consumed by it, not realizing that we need to first be firm in the Lord our God in order for Him to guide the way.
This almost reminds me of today's major political parties; the Democrats and the Republicans... we are so set on the political sides that we fail to see the good and bad in the actual candidates that are running. People will most likely vote for a less qualified candidate because that person represents the political party they are affiliated with. When will we Christians realize that we have no affiliations other than Christ? When you start to reject God's command to love others simply because they sin differently than you, you are disobeying Him for your personal preferences. Once you forget that He has called you to be around certain people to preach the gospel and you start to allow them to influence you instead of you influencing them, you are no longer being the light. See neither side is right because both has turned the gospel into what it believes rather than what God designed it to be. Each side is either so far left or so far right that they've made no way for consistent biblical teachings. For instance, we shouldn't teach people to aim for wealth to find joy but at the same time who are we to tell anyone to remain penniless as if that will be glory to God?
Preachers should tell people that tithing is important, but why should they persuade people to give money in order to be blessed? That's not how it works! And the biggest issue yet... works: As followers of Christ, we are to do good works, but that does not mean that being involved in everything in the church makes you saved. Works cannot save you, accepting the grace God freely gave is the only thing that can (Ephesians 2: 8-10).
Being that we live in a fallen world, these contradicting views of the gospel will always exist. It is however, up to us to actually read our Word and to allow the Holy Spirit to convict us. It is so easy for us to listen to everyone else's interpretation of what the Bible says rather than the author Himself. If we believed God's words more than we believed our pastors', our friends', and even our flesh, I wonder if we would still be having these century old battles among ourselves. I personally believe that God is balanced; He is stern, direct, and disciplined but He is also merciful, graceful, and just. The preachers who sweeten the gospel are not examples to follow and God will deal with them accordingly (Matthew 5: 19-20), but that does not mean that those who listen to their teachings will go to hell, in fact, there are people who found Christ through these teachings. If you truly believe God can use anything for His good, then you should stop attaching His gifts to His people and start attaching them to His glory. As for the preachers that lead people astray because they are so harsh preaching the Word, do you honestly believe that God's people will be lost forever? Will the good shepherd not come back to find His sheep? (John 6:39, John 10:28, Matthew 18:12). Once you realize He created it all, knows it all, and has already won it all, you'll stop focusing on these little details so much and focus on the big picture which is Christ. It is not our responsibility to fix every detail of everyone's life, we can barely fix our own, we are simply to spread the gospel. All He told us to do was spread His truth that people may repent, receive His Holy Spirit and be transformed by Him; not by you, your religion, your ideas, your beliefs, your rules, your preaching style, your worshipping style, or your criticism, but by HIM (John 14:26)! I know this message may be a bit hard for people to receive but I'm not here to pick sides on people's personal spiritual walk with Christ. I'm just here to say people need to first receive Christ and be led by Him through His Word, through communication with Him, and through conviction by Him. Let's not be fooled by this world people, there is more than enough hope for those who belong to the Lord! Yeah, It sucks to see so many bad things happening but God has the last word, some good messages may be preached the wrong way but He can resolve that, good intentions may be overlooked by wrong execution but He can use all things for His glory, people are running from the Gospel because of what they see in churches but He knows how to get His sheep back. He warned us of the end of times and quite frankly this should be no surprise. How could we be a light in an already perfect world, is light not shone only in the dark? I'm not saying every teaching is right or that everyone who claims to know God is His - so be careful - I'm simply saying the Holy Spirit will do His job, we just need to let Him in and to let Him do it.
Love Always***Beauties***
