(no subject)
As I grow older and witness the interactions of people from the unsheltered view of an adult, I find that churches don't express God's love any more than any person that doesn't belong to a congregation.
Several years back I belonged to a church that didn't like the pastor and a group of people within the church wanted to get rid of her. So they sent one of the most personally destructive letters I have ever received to those who had a positive connection with that pastor.
A sister church is hurting from the devastating death of a young black man and I jump in to help. But the rest of my church is not ready to take the path to supporting these and other anti-racism efforts, because the congregation isn't far enough along in their journey to be accepting of all people's struggles as Jesus would have us be.
The Message version of the bible says, "Welcome with open arms fellow believers who don't see things the way you do. And don't jump all over them every time they do or say something you don't agree with - even when it seems that they are strong on opinions but weak in the faith department. Remember, they have their own history to deal with."
So, clearly God understands that even those with faith are flawed and we should love them just as well as anyone else. But do I stand with them and keep quiet and just be the best person I can be? Or do I take the courage and keep pressing a little bit here and there to have the hard conversations? Or do I just move on?
I don't know the answer, I can only ask God where to go from here. All I know is that it pains me to see God's love held at arm's length by His own people.