Unpardonable ...

And speaking of criticism … today it seems all the world is a critic.  We freely dole out “advice” to others about how they could have done a better job.  We feel it our duty, our responsibility, after all we are only trying to make the world better.  And the recipients of our advice clearly need it.  None of us are too receptive to the advice of others, but it would seem all of us are inclined to share criticism, often without being asked.  And what happens in the secular arena, being a reflection of character, is dragged right through the doors of the church into the ministry where it least belongs.  Yet our critique is freely shared inside the church with nearly every ministry offered, and every leader or participant who dares to stand in front of us long enough to listen.  We explain that our motive is only to “help”, to make the ministry “better”, or to avoid the pitfalls of the world.  But the net effect is that criticism flows freely, and our own participation flows slowly by comparison, if at all.

Knowing the condition of man, and the struggle of men against sin in all its form, you might just write this off as an “oops” of our characters that will one day get straightened out by the Lord.  This is true if we let it, rather than in true human form, keep attempting to fix it ourselves.  But there is a danger here in this area that is like none other.  As it turns out there is a much MORE dangerous sin, than homosexuality (which most modern Christians believe is by far the worst).  There is much more permanent sin than even murder.  Hard to imagine that, as life once lost sure looks permanent from a “this world” perspective.  And perhaps worst of all, the sin looks so innocuous that most of us don’t even consider it a sin.  We regularly participate without a second thought, and venture in to unpardonable zones with glee.

The first response to this is to recoil.  Perhaps this is only the opinions of the author of this Blog, nothing more.  I wish that it were so, for I am as guilty as any of my brothers and sisters in the faith.  But unfortunately for me, I am unable to argue with the words of my Lord.  Matthew picks up in his gospel in the twelfth chapter in verse 31, not his own words, but the quoting of the words of Jesus Himself as it reads … “Wherefore I say unto you, All manner of sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven unto men: but the blasphemy against the Holy Ghost shall not be forgiven unto men.”  Ouch.  There is something that sits on the “shall not be forgiven” unto men list.  Blasphemy against Holy Spirit.  So what is Blasphemy then?

For us to claim something is from the Holy Spirit which is truly not would constitute blasphemy.  Not many of us claim to be prophets of God, so the danger here is low for most.  Not many of us claim to have direct communication from the Holy Spirit on any matter, we are nearly all too timid for that.  But for those who do, they better be right, or into this list they march.  But a false claim of authentication is not the only definition or use of this term.  The converse is also true.  To attribute something to Satan that is truly from the Holy Spirit, is also a blasphemy against God.  This is the one church goers are so quick to offer opinions about, particularly the conservative branch of our body.  How many times have you heard the opinion offered … “that music is of Satan”.  Or, bringing drama into the church in the form of Christian plays, or short skits, is of the devil?  It could be an instrument, a method of ministry, a manner of dress, or the message offered.

We have all done it.  We do it still.  We think it our Christian responsibility to “call out” things that we believe are of the world, so as to keep the sacred free from worldly influence.  But the key part of that sentence is “we believe”.  It is our belief, stemming from our opinion and interpretation of scripture, that something is of the world or not.  And those opinions and interpretations are often heavily influenced by our own preferences and traditions.  In these instances, we approach scriptures with the conclusions already made, looking only for texts which will support them, leaving no room to be led, or to find we are wrong.  Yet still we present ourselves with such a level of certainty in our criticism you would think we were ready to wrest the role of Judge from our God and carry it on our shoulders without a care in the world.

Perhaps blasphemy is strong enough as a word in its imagery to give you comfort that you “never” go that far with your critiques.  Perhaps because you associate the word blasphemy with such a level of sin, you believe yourself to be incapable of this, making it something you do not need to worry about.  So Jesus continues as if reading the notions of your heart 2,000+ years later.  He continues in verse 32 saying … “And whosoever speaketh a word against the Son of man, it shall be forgiven him: but whosoever speaketh against the Holy Ghost, it shall not be forgiven him, neither in this world, neither in the world to come.”  The problem extends beyond blasphemy.  The problem extends to merely “a word against” category.  Now even the slightest slight falls into the same unpardonable zone as does full blown blasphemy.

Jesus makes the distinction that all of these same sins against Himself are forgivable.  But NONE of them are forgivable when offered against the Holy Spirit, to be clear, not in this world, or in the world to come.  The Holy Spirit is the third part of the Godhead.  It is an independent entity of God, that we understand little about.  The Bible is about Jesus, and His creation of us.  It is about our fall from trust, embrace of sin, and the redemption of man due to the love and sacrifice of Jesus on our behalf.  Jesus is the main character, and the lens through which we see God the Father.  The Holy Spirit however, while equally active in the redemption of mankind is not what scriptures are written about.  He like a silent partner who does not want the spotlight, seemingly content to work in the background, noticed only when His power moves upon us and we reflect the impossible because of Him.  But He is there.  Some of us hypothesize that the Holy Spirit might be the mom character in the Godhead, but we are as clueless as ants trying to describe the scientific properties of stars.  Perhaps we are only trying to make the Holy Spirit more human, to be more understandable, and in this we mean no criticism.  Stupidity perhaps, but not criticism.

On the other hand, we are quick to judge things, and even results, where the methods are not of our liking.  How many Christian musical artists have been verbally associated with the devil, because we do not like their brand of music?  The phenomenon is not new, organ music was given this attribution 100 years ago.  Now it is having electric guitars, and drums in the sanctuary that gets some folks all riled up.  For some it is worship music that is so repetitive and simplistic it strikes more of inane meditations than music that truly expresses our praise to God.  The point is not what we like or do not like.  The point is the results.  When music points the heart to God, when through our experience of music, we find ourselves coming to Jesus, longing to submit our lives to Him.  The Holy Spirit is in that.  For the Kingdom of heaven is bent on bringing people to Jesus, the method of that journey far less important, than the destination of it.

Our tastes evolve over time.  What we may like as a child expands as an adult.  What we once thought so important, becomes less so as we age.  And Jesus, if we have submitted even our desires to, is the Author behind those changes we do not even understand.  So many Christians are so quick to judge methods, ministers, and messages they feel are inadequate; but whose results are leading of people to Jesus, as being “of the devil”.  This attribution is unfortunately a venture into the unpardonable zone which even after the end of all things is still remembered by the Holy Spirit and not forgiven us.  And why should it be?  We are saying our opinions matter more than the ministry of God to lead people to Jesus.  Better we should say nothing and let the Holy Spirit do as the Holy Spirit wishes.

And do not think this issue is confined only to criticism of music and its various genre’s and methods in the church.  It extends to issues or topics like women’s ordination as well.  This topic is not a debate over doctrine or tradition.  It is a recognition of the gifts of the Holy Spirit, or a rejection of them based on the opinions we hold.  When the Holy Spirit gives the gift of ministry to a woman pastor, and we as the body of Christ reject her because she is a woman, or treat her less because of her sex, we are effectively saying “no” to the Holy Spirit deciding who does what within the body of Christ.  Who are we to make that call, particularly against the wisdom and plan of God?  It holds true to the gifts of the Holy Spirit that are given to young child who we reject because of his/her age.  We reject the word of the Lord, because it comes from a mouth far too young to really understand what they are saying.  And in so doing, we speak more than just a mere word against the Holy Spirit, we are rejecting His gifts, intentions, and plans entirely; based on what, “adult” thinking?

All of these issues boil down to the ego we did not know we held so dearly.  It is the lens of self we apply to things of a spiritual nature, judging what is good and what is not.  But our judgment was never what was needed, our love was.  Leave judging to our God, who alone is qualified.  It becomes then an extremely dangerous thing to offer criticism, which in the end, may well be criticism against the Holy Spirit.  Better we should quell our tongue, and keep our helpful “advice” to ourselves.  Better to uplift, than to offer critical insights.  Better to come from a motivation of pure love, than from a heart who has yet to experience that kind of motivation.  When we seek out the positive, instead of constantly focusing our eyes on the negative, our world suddenly changes around us.  It is this focus on positivity that begins to reflect what Jesus is doing inside of us.  It is a reflection of being someone different than we were before, of allowing the Holy Spirit to decide what we say, and even what we think and believe, and trusting in Him, in God, to not see us follow error to our doom.

Jesus then makes an analogy to help us understand this change phenomenon in our lives picking up in verse 33 saying … “Either make the tree good, and his fruit good; or else make the tree corrupt, and his fruit corrupt: for the tree is known by his fruit.”  Those Christians you know, who never seem to run out of love, who always have something uplifting to say; they are trees of good fruit.  You can just tell they are connected with Jesus, or how else could they say those things, and be that loving no matter what circumstances they are in. or they encounter personally.  On the other hand, those Christians you know who always seems to have a critical word on their tongue, and who appear to love themselves very much, perhaps their families, and very few others; they are Christians of corrupt fruit, for they have yet to surrender who they are, and let Jesus through the power of the Holy Spirit begin to truly transform how their hearts love. 

Jesus gets more to the point picking up in verse 34 saying … “O generation of vipers, how can ye, being evil, speak good things? for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh. [verse 35] A good man out of the good treasure of the heart bringeth forth good things: and an evil man out of the evil treasure bringeth forth evil things.”  This is about words people, your words.  This is not about how well the pastor did last Sabbath, or how well the missionary was able to convey what is going on in the fields.  This is about what you say throughout the week, and how you say it.  Those critiques you have to offer come from a heart that does not yet truly understand love.  Because when it does, it has no time for words that do not bring comfort and joy.  Those words that tear down, are not found in the halls of heaven, for the hearts behind voice never feel that way in the first place.  And so many continue to write this off as unimportant.

Jesus has other views continuing in verse 36 saying … “But I say unto you, That every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment. [verse 37] For by thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned.”  It is the words we utter when we give our lives to Jesus that see us justified.  It is our words of surrender that see us transformed.  It is the idle words we think are still not important that see us condemned, as they continue to reflect the fact that we have not yet surrendered, and have not yet seen our hearts truly transformed into His image.  Our words then are a reflection of who we are.  Our words, how we say them, what we say, are a reflection of the hearts that lie under them.  And so many of us, spend so much time, in words of critique; fully ignorant of our sins mounting against the Holy Spirit all because we have opinions we equate to doctrine, and certainty that surpasses the will of God.  All of it a venture into the unpardonable.

But love is stronger than that.  At least the love of God is stronger than that.  That love is strong enough, not to leave us as we are, but to transform us to what He intends for us to be.  Not just what Jesus intends, but what the Holy Spirit intends, and what God the Father intends.  There are three parts to our united God, not just one, or two.  The third part, the Holy Spirit, has a work and mission, and a personality as well; independent of the others, as I am independent of my wife, yet bound to her as one flesh.  The Holy Spirit is united in purpose with the Godhead, and gives man gifts, and power that reflect the will of God.  When we argue against that will, we venture in unpardonable zones we dare not go.  For we will not soon forget our own actions that delayed, or dismayed the ministry of God to redeem man, even though we ourselves are safely in the Kingdom of heaven.  That criticism we offered that disheartened the soul of a potential believer who was so close to accepting Jesus, but saw in us a discouragement they could not overcome will weigh on us forever, a judgment we will not escape, the judgment of our memories.  The treasure of souls who would have otherwise come to Jesus, is a treasure we should never risk, by clumsy words, and “helpful” advice.  If it does not reflect the passion of God’s love through a heart that has been transformed, our silence would be better preferred, coupled only with actions of love in demonstration.

 

The Critique of God ...

How scary is that?  How scary is the idea of having God Himself give your life, your work, His critique?  Keep in mind He sees all, He knows every motive, every failure, every shortcoming.  It’s not like a human version of this where some life coach tries to give you tips on how to live better.  We are talking about an impromptu critique by God Himself.  Has that ever happened?  I mean, short of our ideas about a judgment that nearly everyone places sometime in the future, has Jesus ever offered a critique on a living person’s life (well living at the time anyway)?  The short answer is yes.  And what would you imagine that critique to be, a stinging rebuke to the leadership of the church for their hypocrisy and refusal to submit themselves to the will of God?  Yes, Jesus gave a number of those, each one designed to wake up those church leaders, and stun them into the awareness of their true condition, hidden by the masks they wore, and the self-image they had constructed for themselves.  But perhaps more surprising to us, Jesus also gave out a “glowing” review as well.  Imagine that, perhaps the best review in history, handed out by the highest authority in the Universe, the one who created it.

Think about the significance of this.  An imperfect being, with imperfect doctrine, granted a glowing review by Jesus Himself.  Let’s get it straight, it was not the imperfections that were glorified.  But it was the submission in spite of imperfections that was.  Again, this is another departure for the Jewish people in the days of Christ of what they thought about the character of God.  To them, and to us, God was always some highly critical God, just waiting to point out everything we do wrong, to the point where nobody would ever be good enough to be in His company.  How well, the devil has been able to maintain this lie about the nature of our loving God, who would die Himself, rather than be separated from we who He loved so much.  The improper view of the nature of our God, was not only held in the days of Matthew, and another reason why he penned his gospel.  It is held in our own days, because what we read, we ignore.  The words of our Bibles pass our eyes, but do not penetrate our hearts.  Because like our forefathers we do not yet read them after submitting our very thoughts for Jesus to mold and reshape.

Matthew persisted nonetheless.  He begins his revelation, his uncovering, about the real nature of our God in form of Jesus, picking up in chapter eleven beginning in verse 7 saying … “And as they departed, Jesus began to say unto the multitudes concerning John, What went ye out into the wilderness to see? A reed shaken with the wind?”  The disciples of John were just leaving to relay to him the good news of everything they had seen and heard of Jesus Christ.  That would be a message to cheer his heart, affirm his faith, give him the strength to face death.  And the crowd who remained behind was clueless of all of this.  So Jesus calls their attention back to the ministry of John the Baptist.  He poses the question, what did you go to wilderness to see? 

Were you looking for someone who is shaken with the winds of popularity?  Were you looking for someone who preached what was popular in order to gain favor?  Mega churches have been built upon this approach.  But John did not follow it.  He was firm in his singular doctrine that burned within him with a roaring fire of the Spirit.  His doctrine was absent all hate; and constructed on redemptive love.  He did not rail at the people, accusing them of every sin.  Instead he shouted of repentance and the healing it alone can bring.  He was not shaken by criticism, nor by the threats of the organized church, nor even by the ruler who would imprison him.  He was firm in pointing the people to redemption beginning in repentance.

Jesus continues his critique of John in verse 8 saying … “But what went ye out for to see? A man clothed in soft raiment? behold, they that wear soft clothing are in kings' houses.”  Jesus asks the multitude again, what did they travel to the wilderness to see?  Did they expect to see a prince perhaps, someone of wealth and status, someone rewarded of God with fine things, and fine clothes?  John had enough listeners to regularly pass the collection plate for tithes and offerings.  Had he done this, his wealth would have certainly amassed.  He would have been justified in doing it, as he was certainly doing God’s work, and was certainly a minister of God.  No one, including us, would have questioned it.  But John accepted NO MONEY at all.  He did not change his eating habits (the things one can find in the desert on their own).  Nor did he change out his clothing (skins he made by himself, even for the linen robes the priests wore).  He constructed no mansion either.  If ever a minister “could” have earned a living in the ministry, it was John, and he chose to accept NONE of it.

Jesus continues once again picking up in verse 9 saying … “But what went ye out for to see? A prophet? yea, I say unto you, and more than a prophet.  [verse 10] For this is he, of whom it is written, Behold, I send my messenger before thy face, which shall prepare thy way before thee.”  Jesus asks the multitude for the third and last time what did they travel to the wilderness to see?  Perhaps they went to see the crazy man.  Often crazy men like this were prophets who heard clearly the word of the Lord.  All through history prophets were always a little outside of normal society, maybe John was just one of them.  But Jesus says “more” than a prophet.  For while John prophesied about the coming Messiah, he also had a burning conviction inspired by the Holy Spirit.  He was God’s messenger.  He had a message of repentance, the people needed to hear, and needed to respond to.  John was making straight the way of the Lord, in the hearts of the people, by speaking the words the Holy Spirit would bless.

John had a conviction beyond the prophetic.  He had a conviction for the practical.  His message was not just to excite the people about what was coming.  It was to prepare the people in their hearts to receive what was coming.  Without repentance there is no room for submission, there is no room for the Truth, they are crowded out by self, and self-interest, and self-love.  Repentance leads to an opening, a re-beginning of the journey towards God, a reconciliation between man and God.  The message of John is one of the most important ones throughout all of history.  It was not just designed to be spoken or accepted in his day, but in every day.  Had Cain repented of killing Able, instead of lying to avoid penalty, his fate might have been different.  Were I to repent of my sin, and pain it causes others, my relationship with God might enter a new level I have not even imagined as yet, my heart beginning to become in even more harmony with His heart.  That message still works.  It still has relevance and meaning and depth.

Jesus continues his critique in verse 11 saying … “Verily I say unto you, Among them that are born of women there hath not risen a greater than John the Baptist: notwithstanding he that is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.”  Imagine these words spoken of you.  Among children born of women there has not risen a greater than “you”.  The decisions of John the Baptist lead him to this great compliment.  How he lived; by choice in poverty, depending upon God every day for his food, water, clothing, and shelter.  How his mother raised him as a Nazarite from birth, honoring the traditions of the faith, to commit his body to God and offer signs in his hair and flesh that he was to be offered to God, even before he had the maturity to understands what this means.  The ministry of John, both prophetic, and practical.  Everything about John had led to this compliment by the Savior of the Universe, in spite of the fact that the organized church did not care for John, and that John was sitting in prison on death row at the time.

But, says Jesus as well.  The human greatness of John, is nothing next to the least of people within the Kingdom of Heaven.  Yes, you heard that right.  Hitler, Saddam, Al Capone, pick the greatest villain you can imagine.  Have that villain submit to Jesus right before he dies and be saved in his final thoughts.  And that forgiven villain, least in the Kingdom of Heaven, is now greater than John the Baptist.  It is hard to imagine Jesus offering a critique that could potentially place Adolph Hitler or Pol Pot (the Cambodian genocidal leader) as greater than John the Baptist.  How could this be?  Because our earthly lives will never measure up, to our eternal ones.  Submission to Jesus, and the salvation that results, puts our lives on course for a greatness that simply cannot be achieved in the world in which we live, no matter how well we think we live here.  Submission is greater than sacrifice.

Then Jesus shifts from direct critique of John, to a critique of His own church, continuing in verse 12 saying …” And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffereth violence, and the violent take it by force. [verse 13] For all the prophets and the law prophesied until John.”  The fate of nearly every prophet all the way through John was a fate of suffering, and of violence.  Satan takes advantage of the long-suffering nature of God, hurling violence against the innocent, to test the patience of God, and attempt to lure Him into retaliation and violence in return.  But Satan does not understand the nature of God.  God loves the victim, as He loves the perpetrator, longing to save both from the fates Satan would devise.  The messages of the Prophets were designed to help those trapped in error to see that error and turn from it.  The Prophets were God’s way of warning those trapped in the snares of Satan, that he had doom in mind for them.  The Prophets tried to challenge evil with the message of a loving God, not content to see those He loved, suffer the fates they had chosen.  But these same Prophets were met with violence more than listening ears.

Jesus continues His critique of John picking back up in verse 14 saying … “And if ye will receive it, this is Elias, which was for to come. [verse 15] He that hath ears to hear, let him hear.”  This is where scripture is interpreted by Jesus Christ Himself.  The prophecy of the return of Elijah before the promised Messiah, is now attributed to John the Baptist and the message and ministry he has accomplished.  The prophecy interpreted in this way, means there will be no literal return of the prophet of old for them to look for, but a literal return of the message of repentance, the only way it is possible to make straight the way of the Lord, in the heart of the people.  Jesus tweaks His audience, all of whom have perfect hearing, some likely restored of His hands to be just so; to think about what He is saying.  Jesus asks them to see the wisdom of what He is saying - about both the scriptures, and the message and ministry of John.  This is not an insult to his audience.  It is a challenge for them to think differently about what they think they know about the scriptures.  To embrace a new way of looking at old scriptures.  Outside the purview of the organized church leadership, but inside the direct teachings of Jesus Christ Himself.

Are we too ready to examine our scriptures in this way?  Or do we continue in our certainty of what we know, allowing no room to be taught, even if that teaching were to come from Jesus Christ Himself?  Our will must ever be subservient to His.  Our wealth of knowledge, and understanding, must stand the shadow of a fool, compared with the wisdom of our God.  The doctrines we cling to, enforced by years of tradition, should be pillars we gladly release, when the voice of Jesus bids us … those who have ears, let them hear.  So much of how we view our Bible’s begins first with the notion of a cruel and just God, interested more in our punishment, than in our redemption.  Our preconceptions begin that redemption is hard, and sin is easy and fun.  But in truth, our sin is the source of our pain and our punishment.  Our redemption is easy, and the only way to escape the fate we have otherwise doomed ourselves to suffer.  In the light of Jesus Christ, many of our false ideas and rigid doctrines, seem to melt away.  And this is how it was meant to be.  Jesus the Messiah, was meant to rid us of the notions of men, and the burdens of traditions, and free us to love in a way we have yet to imagine.  To love as the heart of God loves.  To value others as the heart of our God truly values others, even when they are still steeped and trapped in sins they have no way to escape on their own.

The critique of Jesus Christ of John was a glowing one.  Your critique could easily be the same.  Through the lens of Jesus Christ it already is, but it could be even better.  Through the lens of full submission of who you are to Jesus Christ, your critique becomes one infinitely better than it is today.  The true meaning of life you begin to experience.  True obedience based in harmony with the heart of God, something that naturally occurs in your fingertips and feet.  All of this is available to you, if you but ask, and submit to Jesus who longs to give it to you.

And while Jesus had so many good things to say of John, His critique of His own church was not quite so glowing …

 

Killing the Critics ...

There are many who have a horrible picture of God, and even worse of the Bible.  It would be easy to assume they are all outside of the church, but such is not always the case.  Critics are alive and well and ever present in online forums, social gatherings, and even inside church business meetings or board meetings.  Those who criticize from outside the church are taught to do so, by the encounters they have had with those who profess the name of Christ.  The critics within do an excellent job of training the critics without.  How do those who bear the name of Christ undo the damage that has been done by those who believe it is their duty to point out the flaws - in everything?

When one examines the ministry of Christ, we always find Him focused on the redemption of all He encounters.  Christ does not center his conversations on what is wrong with His listener, only how His listener could escape the pain they carry.  Mary Magdalene was guilty of far more than adultery when she was cast at the Savior’s feet.  Christ could have enumerated all the sins He knew she had committed over her lifetime.  He did not.  Nor did He call attention to each of the sins in the lives of those who were picking up the stones to end her life.  With a simple but piercing gaze into the eyes of the angry mob, He gently reminded them that they too were equally guilty and deserving of death, or more importantly of the mercy He was extending to Mary.  Christ was not trying to excuse Mary, or proclaim her innocence.  He was trying to free her from the pain she had chosen to embrace.  This is the very nature of redemption, not provide an excuse for evil, but an escape from evil.  And in this work, Christ was decidedly NOT a critic.  Instead He uses the power of positive reinforcement, blessing her, freeing her, and saying … “go, and sin no more.”  Forget what you have done and embrace the freedom from pain He offers to her.  Do not focus on your sins or your past or the hundred other things she had done wrong – instead be free, and focus on the freedom only Christ could bring.

Criticism does not bring reform.  But the hope and love Christ offered brought about change.  When Christ encounters the Samaritan woman at the well, he again gets her excited about what He has to offer her – a living water, a freedom she has never known.  He does not focus on all the woman’s sins or faults.  He mentions her social history only to reveal to her that He knows her as a person, cares about her as a person, is interested in freeing this particular woman from the pain she has known in her own life.  She becomes so excited she is compelled to go back to her town, and bring with her everyone who knows her to hear “this prophet who revealed the secrets of her life”.  She is not content to hear His message of freedom alone, but rather wants the entire town to come to Him.  Had Christ been a critic with divine knowledge about her life and sins and focused only on her faults, she would have wanted to hide herself from Him, and never let Him speak of her long list of evils in front of the entire village.  Instead, Christ does not center His encounter with her on what she may have done wrong, but on how she can be freed from the pain of evil.  This freedom, this hope, this love is what she is compelled to share with everyone she knew.  Christ brings reform, criticism accomplishes nothing.

Yet somehow over the years “Christian” has become synonymous more with “critic” than with “Christ”.  Too often Christians focus on what is wrong with the world around them, and more specifically with the people they encounter, than on the hope the Christ brings to escape the pain of evil that plagues our souls.  When an outsider looks at a Christian for the first time, they mark whether they see a person who loves them unconditionally, much like our Lord – or someone who seems to think their sole mission is to point out every flaw, every shortcoming, every sin that might be preventing them from “finding God”. 

As when Christ encountered Mary, there was no question that the crowd was right, she was guilty.  But the lesson is not about judging the guilty, it is about reforming a life from guilty to one that is not slave to the pain that evil brings.  So too, when we encounter the sinners that surround us in the world, it is not our mission to focus and call attention to the obvious evils they commit – but to point them to a God who loves them SO much He was willing to die to heal them.  People avoid criticism, but are drawn to love.  If we are to represent Christ, we must be a picture of unconditional love.  Proving that we actually do love the sinner, despite his sin; for our Lord loves us despite the evil we continue to cling to.  Our mission is not to “fix” people, we are incapable of that.  Our mission is to point people to the source of all love and let Him “fix” them, as He does with us.

Christ does not discriminate against “some” of His children, choosing not to love them because of a particular evil they commit.  Instead He loves ALL of His children, despite the condition they find themselves in, despite the sin and pain they have chosen to embrace.  He longs to free ALL of those He loves from the pain in their lives.  He wants ALL to come to Him; age is no barrier, sex is no barrier, race is no barrier, even our sin is no barrier to come to the Lord of Lords.  He did not ask anyone He encountered to go become blameless and give up certain vices before they could be with Him.  He knows that is not something humans can do.  Instead He bids us all to come to Him.  He knows when we do we find rest.  Only when we come to Him can we find the peace, the hope, and the change we ALL so desperately need.  In this He presents an infallible picture of unconditional love.  How can Christians then, those who bear His name, love others any less?  How can we claim the name of Christ and then totally reverse His ministry from one of hope, to one of condemnation and fear.

Notice that Christ never once threatened any of His listeners with eternal Hellfire and damnation if they did not choose to believe in Him.  His ministry was not one based on … “you better or else”.  The Beatitudes are not followed by ten curses to those who refuse to embrace Him.  Yes, on occasion Christ warned His listeners about the dangers of disobedience (mostly to those who thought themselves the religious leaders of the day); but even then it was always couched in an appeal of love.  Christ’s evangelism was not based on the soon coming end of the world, the last plagues, persecution, torment, and the evils of going to hell for our sins.  He did not preach long sermons designed to scare people into submission to an all-powerful vengeful God.  That is not who He was.  That is not who His Father is.  Instead, He presents the perfect picture of love, acceptance, and freedom from the pain of evil.  The Bible is not written to show the justice of God in condemning the evil ones, it is written to show the mercy of God to those who do not deserve it.  We are the beneficiaries of His love, His mercy, and His sacrifice.  We receive it as a gift, unearned.  He needs no fear to motivate us.  He has something considerably better to offer than merely an escape from fear.  He has a real alternative to the pain of slavery in serving only one’s self.

Christ does not need fear to transform His listeners.  He does not criticize to reform.  He loves.  He genuinely loves, each person, each encounter is one designed to redeem.  Christ knew the mind of Judas.  He knew that Judas was skimming from the collection plates.  He knew that Judas would betray Him.  He knew what would become of Judas.  So why not reveal him?  Wouldn’t you?  Why tolerate a known traitor in your midst?  But Christ did.  Not just to fulfill some prophecy written centuries earlier, or not because He intended to provide Judas with false intel to give the Pharisees.  He allowed Judas to be one of the twelve, because He desperately wanted to save Judas from himself.  He hoped that close-up, constant exposure to love might reach into the heart of Judas and reform him. 

But to do this, Judas must be willing.  Judas thought he knew better what the mission of Christ should be, and while he believed in the divinity of Christ, he never imagined that one who had such power would not use it to free himself from certain death.  Judas never accepted the freedom Christ offered, yet that did not ever give Christ an occasion to criticize Judas, and point out his every fault.  Christ did not try to frighten Judas into reform.  He did not tell Judas that what he was doing, and how he was thinking, might lead him to the very gates of hell.  Instead, He was patient and loving with Judas.  He accepted Judas as one of His own.  Judas was a member of the 12.  He could have had his name written on one of the gates of Heaven itself.  He could have been a mighty leader of the early Christian church.  But Judas would not have it.  And Christ never changed his approach with Judas, no matter what Judas did or said.  Christ only ever showed him love and acceptance.

If criticism is to end within the Christian church it must first end inside of me.  I must look in the mirror and confess to my Lord that my heart is one full of critique and empty of love.  I must ask the Lord to change how I speak, how I love, and how I communicate with others.   I must find a way to focus on what is good, and allow Christ to fix what is not.  I must become an encourager of the faith, and an unfailing reflection of His love through me to those I encounter.  I must love those who are hard to love.  I must remember not to respond to criticism with barbs of my own.  Instead I must return love for insults, love for hate, love for dislike, love for apathy, love for greed.  Whatever is thrown at me by those I meet, whether inside or outside the church walls, I must only ever return love. 

This is what my Savior did.  This is how Christ ministered.  He was not obsessed with a list of woes.  He was laser focused on how to redeem people with love.  He wanted to reconcile ALL of us to His Father, not just the ones struggling with “certain pre-approved sins”, but everyone, no matter what their particular sin was.  He did not care about the belief systems a person held to be valid, He knew He would have to help them see truth.  But we can only see truth AFTER we come to Christ, not before it.  He knew it might take years to help us believers find the truth we ignore thinking we know better – like Judas.  But He does not give up on us.  Therefore let us not give up on each other, and let us find His strength in our hearts, to destroy any shred of criticism that might remain.  And perhaps then redefine “Christian” to be synonymous with “unconditional acceptance” rather than “critic”.