My heart aches for the unity in Christ all believers should have. Because let's face it, sometimes I think people will be shocked to find other people in heaven who don't go to their church. Christianity isn't some all-inclusive club for only the elite to get in. It's for every wretched, dirty heart that falls on their face before a mighty God and accepts Him as their Lord and Savior. It's for the Pentecostal, the Baptist, the Presbyterian, the Lutheran, the Methodist, the Apostolic, the Non-denominational, Inter-denominational, and the list could go on.
Those are LABELS that we put on ourselves. Jesus doesn't see labels y'all, He sees HEARTS! No where in the Bible does it say "Those who go to such and such church will be saved, all those who go to a different church are wretched sinners." It says "everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved."-Romans 10:13 Newsflash: All we, like sheep have gone astray. We all have turned everyone to his own way. We are ALL wretched sinners in need of a gracious, loving Savior. You know what we are without Jesus? Dirty, stinky rags. The kind that are good for nothing but the trash. They are ripped, torn to pieces, and every inch of them is covered in filth. That is us without Jesus and it doesn't matter what church doors we grace with our presence each week. Because in His eyes, we are all the same.
I feel sick to my stomach when I remember how I was taught differently growing up. How they would feed me the lies that while yes everyone was a sinner, we were somehow better off than everyone else because we attended some supernatural, special church. There is NOTHING special about a church building or the leaders or the programs etc. They may be nice, but when it all comes down to it what matters is that the people of God are out there showing love to a lost and dying world.
Because Jesus said "By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”-John 13:35 Too many churches and believers today have rewritten this verse in their mind to read something like this: "By this everyone will know that you are my disciples"..... "if you attend this church", "if you put down others who don't go to your church" 'if you choose a position no matter how wrong it is and then twist Scripture to back up your position", "if you accumulate all the power you can and use it to inflict agony upon others all in the name of Jesus".
Oh my heart breaks. Guys, no wonder the devil is having a hey-day. He is sitting back with joy on his scheming, devising and dividing face watching God's people fall apart because there is disunity in the church. And by the church, I don't mean a building. I mean the family of God. Every single born-again believer makes up the church. From here all the way to Australia and everything above, below or in between. Every person who has ever called upon the name of the Lord to save them is a part of this church. I don't think some of us are going to know what to do when we get to heaven and see some other people up there too.
Christianity is not a country club guys, so can we please stop treating it like it is? It's a messy, chaotic, surrendered, not very glamorous life. But if we truly follow Jesus and let His love pour into us and through us, it's a life full of peace that surpasses understanding, joy that is unspeakable and faith that is unshakable. I want to get back to that kind of Christianity. What about you?
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