Yesterday my husband told me a true story of a girl...
She came to church very dirty and disheveled. She was barefoot. And to top it off--she brought two rats on her shoulders.
Yes, I said TWO RATS.
(Now just what is going through your mind right now?)
She continued to come and eventually she got cleaned up and would just bring one rat instead of both. And then one day she confronted the pastor.
She told him she came to church and made herself dirty on purpose. She wanted to see if anyone would accept her. She wanted to see how the church would act towards her. Would they really welcome her or would they look down on her. Would they just look on the outside? Would they love her?
The pastor broke into tears and was so thankful that the people in his church reached out to her because this gal ended up getting saved.
Now I want you to go with me for a minute to two places.
1. How would you have reacted as this woman walked into your very own church? Would you have looked down on her because she wasn't wearing the acceptable 'Christian' attire? Would you have loved her? Could you have truly welcomed her into your circle (friends, Bible study, home)?
2. You ARE that woman. That is how we came to Christ and how our sin was to Him. We were dirty and barefoot and He cleaned us. We carried the 'rats' of sin on our very own shoulders and He forgave us of them. We are no different. We need Christ just as much as this girl did.
Remember, Jesus HATED religion. He hated conformity on the outside and called the Pharisee's white-washed tombs. He called them broods of vipers and sons of hell. He accused them of keeping people from God. I wonder how much we do this and don't even realize it. We put up barriers that prevented people from coming to God.
We cannot put up barriers that keep people from knowing the love of God through us. Sometimes we do this is unwittingly, honestly thinking we are doing right by God. But we actually hinder people---not just the unsaved but even Christians around us. They feel that Christianity is a 'religion of works' and become discouraged and fall away.
I don't know about you, but I think we absolutely need to repent of this repulsive, 'pseudo-Christianity'. Jesus didn't die so we could all look perfect and live perfect lives. He didn't die so we could hang with our Christian friends and turn down our noses on the lost. There is a whole world dying out there and we need to be fishers of men.
"The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor." Luke 4:18-9
She continued to come and eventually she got cleaned up and would just bring one rat instead of both. And then one day she confronted the pastor.
She told him she came to church and made herself dirty on purpose. She wanted to see if anyone would accept her. She wanted to see how the church would act towards her. Would they really welcome her or would they look down on her. Would they just look on the outside? Would they love her?
The pastor broke into tears and was so thankful that the people in his church reached out to her because this gal ended up getting saved.
Now I want you to go with me for a minute to two places.
1. How would you have reacted as this woman walked into your very own church? Would you have looked down on her because she wasn't wearing the acceptable 'Christian' attire? Would you have loved her? Could you have truly welcomed her into your circle (friends, Bible study, home)?
2. You ARE that woman. That is how we came to Christ and how our sin was to Him. We were dirty and barefoot and He cleaned us. We carried the 'rats' of sin on our very own shoulders and He forgave us of them. We are no different. We need Christ just as much as this girl did.
Remember, Jesus HATED religion. He hated conformity on the outside and called the Pharisee's white-washed tombs. He called them broods of vipers and sons of hell. He accused them of keeping people from God. I wonder how much we do this and don't even realize it. We put up barriers that prevented people from coming to God.
We cannot put up barriers that keep people from knowing the love of God through us. Sometimes we do this is unwittingly, honestly thinking we are doing right by God. But we actually hinder people---not just the unsaved but even Christians around us. They feel that Christianity is a 'religion of works' and become discouraged and fall away.
I don't know about you, but I think we absolutely need to repent of this repulsive, 'pseudo-Christianity'. Jesus didn't die so we could all look perfect and live perfect lives. He didn't die so we could hang with our Christian friends and turn down our noses on the lost. There is a whole world dying out there and we need to be fishers of men.
"The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor." Luke 4:18-9
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