Have you ever felt lost? Have you ever wandered around trying to figure out where you are and what you're doing? Confused and bewildered I have stumbled my way through life trying to figure out where I am. Not literally but figuratively. I remember days when I would just sit and contemplate where I was and who I was. Lost in a sea of confusion is not a great place to be but for me it has been eye opening, especially lately.
I've gotten wrapped up in non believers angry words and bitter banter back and forth as they try to fight and ignore the feelings they have buried so deep that they seem lost. Some of them are so angry that they pounce with all the power of hell and try to plunder all hope out of us. At least that is how I have felt, especially lately. Lost in a sea of words and anger, they seem to spew so much bitterness from their mouths that I get defensive and upset. Really? Me? Why do I let this get to me?
There are so many people living today who are lost and yes occasionally I am one of them, but I am not just talking about non believers ut believers also. There are so many of us believers who are lost in "religion". The sacraments, the rituals, the ceremonies, the doctrine, the rules and the same prayers week after week make some of us lost without even realizing it. Believers arguing amongst themselves over these stupid issues is ridiculous. No wonder the lost, non believers feel free to attack us, heck we attack ourselves and each other.
We argue over when and how to baptize, we disagree over how to receive forgiveness, we rumble over our choices in worship music, and we point fingers at those religions who are not like ours. Really? I have a hard time discerning the difference sometimes over who is lost for not believing and believing. Okay if I may be honest here, we are all lost. Believers and non believers alike.
Let's face it sometimes us believers can spew out so much anger and bitterness that it is hard to believe we are believers. We are sometimes so angry and our words are so destructive that it is jare to imagine we sit in church on Sunday and worship Jesus. Sadly sometimes we are so busy judging the lost that we cannot see we are pushing them away.
Jesus Christ came for the lost and forsaken. He came to set captives free.
Luke 19:10 "For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost."
We need to stop defending Jesus to people who don't really know Him and truthfully can't see Him in us. Jesus does not need us to defend Him to others, we need to just be Him as best we can, We need to drop the "religion" and religious attitude and serve those non believers the way Jesus did.
Listen, Jesus, the Son of God Himself did not come to this world to point His fingers at us and condemn us with everything we have done wrong. So why do we? If we a believers are supposed to be a true example of Jesus Christ then we really need to go back to our Bibles and reread how Jesus treated people. He sat down with sinners and just loved them where they were. He sat down with prostitutes and forgave them without an angry, harsh or judgemental tone. Jesus never rose His hand in anger and pointed His finger in judgement of anyone except the "religious" leaders of His time.
We need to reach the lost non believers and believers with love and patience and kindness and tenderness and compassion and acceptance! For I was lost, but now I am found!
Thank you God for finding me! Thank you for loving me and gently guiding me back to you. Help my words and actions reveal the truth of who you are. Help me to lose my "religion" and cling to my relationship with you. Help me to reach the lost as you would, in Jesus name I pray, amen!
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