Look not on our sins, but on the faith of your Church

Mar 19, 2009 01:15


I keep finding discussions where it's argued that pointing out anyone's sinful living is a favour done to them, a sign of true Christian love. Maybe it is. It also misses the point, and, incidentally, annoys the recipient. And I think it's not what we need.

I have heard it said, inside the various churches I have dropped by throughout the years, that people today ar not aware of their sins, and that the (other, generally) churches are being too lenient, too laissez-faire, to worldly to preach about it. Actually, I would say much of what the non-Christian person will see of Christianity is various condemnations of various actions - preaching about sin. Somehow, the gospel, the good news, ceased to be 'there is joy and salvation and meaning available to anyone who wants it' and became 'if you don't behave you're going to burn in hell.' I will concede that this message may be found in the Bible, if that's what you want to find, but surely no one could consider it good news?

We need to stop talking about sin and about how we've been naughty children whom Father will deal with when he gets back. We are offered to be fellow workers in God's wineyard, not harshly disciplined children. We need to start talking about the joy, the comfort, and the meaningful life to be found in faith. We need to talk about mercy, about grace, about the love that will die for us and expect us to do the same for one another. We need to talk about the boundless, unconditional love of God. We need to remind everyone that there's more to life than money, and the terrible desire to get more at the expense of others. We need to talk about the joy of sharing, of giving, of community: that a Christian life is not about constant self-policing and worrying about sin, but about joyfully working towards a better world. Most of all, we need to enact, in our lives, not the fear of God, but the love of God.

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