Hi :)
Submitted by Heather on July 23 1999 at 23:16:33
In reply to Whoa wait a minute.. ... I see the light! Submitted by Some guy in the NW (aka Jesus lover) on July 23 1999 at 22:45:07
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I meant to drop you an e-mail today, but I'll just write here. I'm glad you're back. I think you're still missing what I was getting at, though. It's fine to say, "If someone is not on God's side, he is on Satan's" – the problem was, you were presuming to judge who is on God's side. You were specifically saying that Jim was not on God's side. And I think that Jesus warns us against making those types of judgment. For all you know, Jim could be one of those people who feeds the sick and the poor (he does a lot of that type of thing, actually, metaphorically speaking) and who therefore serves Christ without realizing that he's doing so. I think that only God can tell who's really on his side, and that we're better off saying, "I'm a miserable sinner," rather than being like the Pharisee who spent all his time talking about other people's sins. Preachers have a different role to play than you do, a much harder role that they spend years training for. It's very hard to try to guide others without falling into the trap of disobeying Jesus' teaching that we not judge others, and that's why pastors have to spend a lot of time learning how to do so before they speak out. We lay people are better off imitating the penitent tax collector. You know, one of the earliest records we have about Christians by non-Christians is the statement, "See how they love each other." If you want to bring people closer to God, why not simply show them how and why you love God? Your statements to Scruffy explaining why you are trying to follow Jesus are much more helpful than your statements that others aren't following God. I agree with you, by the way, that this is probably a thread that should close. I'm sure that there are many other subjects we could be discussing here that would be more fruitful. Heather |