Here I sit on my first eve of the new year in Brandon Manitoba. It has been an exciting year with a lot of change. Not all easy but God has been very good to us. So I have been pondering a lot. One thing that has been on my radar lately is how we seem to have lost so many boundaries in our modern culture. I am certainly not talking about "rules" but rather the boundaries of "respect" for others and the value of Biblical Truth. I hear a lot lately about the importance of "tolerance" and "unity" though these are not new themes the lack of important principles to guide the discussions seem to be lacking.
For example when I read language from the new Pope about how we need to learn to co-exist with Muslims because they are really peaceful and worship the same god as us, I shake my head and can't believe how lacking in understanding he is about Islam. I know people who have converted from Islam to Christianity and they will tell me that Islam is not at its core peaceful, it is rooted in fear and power. The god Islam proclaims is not the same God that the Bible talks about. Christians are Trinitarian, Jesus is not a teacher or prophet, He is one of the 3 members of the Trinity and as such is God, Islam does not believe this. Yet in a drive to gather political unity and support the Pope seems to lack Biblical guidance on such things.
Another example is how people responded in the past year to different issues that have risen regarding homosexuality and Christianity. It may be true that some people have expressed what is Biblical Truth in a way that was hurtful and harsh but what has been lacking is proper respect for others no matter how different they are than you. I believe we are called to have a basic respect for others. I have people who I call friends who have identified themselves to me as "gay" or "bi", this should not cause me to treat them any different than the friends that I have that have identified themselves to me as "alcoholic" or "adulterer". I do not have to agree with people in order to treat them with respect. I have friends who are Muslim, Catholic, Pentecostal, Baptist, Atheist, etc... I do not have to agree with them to respect them as people. Walking with others who are different from you with respect actually brings opportunity for us in a caring manner to share our Faith.
Yet in all of this people who have a special agenda like to call for "tolerance" but not for "respect". We are told to put aside what we believe because Christianity and Biblical Truth might offend people. Yet true respect and tolerance would say everyone should believe what they believe and not be offended that someone believes different. I do not expect people who are not Biblical Christians to believe like me, I expect that they will choose lifestyles and religions etc... that are nothing like my belief. This is actually what the Bible describes, the lost are lost and do not expect them to act and believe like the found. People get really offended because the Bible describes them as lost or dead in sin but if you don't believe the Bible then why should it matter to you. So we have the people of the World describing "tolerance" as the absence of Biblical Christianity.
So if you are like me and desire to live as a Biblical Christian, then I will encourage you to boldly live your belief but do so with respect for others. The Love we are to show others is to be rooted in the "fruit" of the Spirit - love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. So let us seek to embody the fruit that the Spirit of God brings into our life.
Happy New Year - let's walk through 2014 Together.
If you have things you would like to hear my thoughts about in 2014 just drop me an e-mail and I will see if I can accommodate you.
Pastor Bruce
pastorffbc@mymts.net
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