Unknowing

Ephesians 4:14 NLT

I won’t say when I was younger I was ignorant, but I can now see that I was unknowing.

Experience has taught me that while we are called to love people, it’s not an easy task. My need for God in this is great.

Ephesians 1:14, “The Spirit is God’s guarantee that he will give us the inheritance he promised and that he has purchased us to be his own people. He did this so we would praise and glorify him.”

Experience has taught me that seeking the inheritance to be called a person of God is easy but ever so difficult.

It’s easy because God paved the way through Jesus to understand and claim the character and nature of God. It’s ever so difficult because in that we are called to love one another as Jesus loved us. The difficulty comes into play because there are people who simply do not want to be loved of God or of the people of God.

They do not want to know God or any person who is of God. They think believers are part of a club and they do not want to join.

Through the years I’ve watched people who do not want to be part of God and I’ve asked questions about why they choose not to believe. I’ve been told various reasons:

Christians are not fun

Believers are judgmental

Christians are not loving

The sad part is that I see their point. I’ve known Christians who are dull and drab, but I would argue they are not that way because they are Christians…it’s just their personality. In other words either they are modeling two parents who did not think life is fun or their parents did not want children to be children…they wanted them to be quiet robots. In that I am reminded none of my four children were quiet or robots. I really wanted they to laugh and play. I wanted them to be creative. There were times when that didn’t work out quite like I expected, but I can laugh about it now. Those stories are the absolute best stories now…like my ever obedient child who climbed to the top of the church roof and started tossing things (shoes) on friends below.

I love that story!

I especially love telling my grandchildren that story because it makes me smile and laugh. Who said Christians are not fun?

Next…it’s been my experience that making judgments about others is not only relegated to believers. Humans make judgments for various reasons. They might judge because they’ve been taught to judge. It can be because they are insecure and it’s their way of making their inner self feel secure. It is often a human trait that they were not taught to understand.

Lastly, when I’m told that Christians are not loving I am really sad. Above all things we are told we are called to love one another in the same way that Christ loves us. In that I am reminded of people of God who were taught from a young age by their parents to protect themselves at all costs.

Inadvertently they were taught not to trust others. And…if you can’t trust others how can you freely love them.

The basis for the initial teaching is fear. I don’t believe the parent was intending to harm their child. More than likely their intent was to keep their child safe. In some cases that is because they were abused as a child by an older child or a teacher.

Fear deeply rooted can have a great hold on us.

The good news is that educators and psychologists now teach children appropriate and inappropriate behaviors.

I love it that even young children are taught to say no…or to scream if an older child or an adult is being inappropriate. Education and good clear dialog is the key. After all…we ARE people of God purchased by Jesus to be His own. For that we say thank you!

Deborah

acrazyjourney.com