Dear Keith

I received an email yesterday from someone who follows me online at Facebook. The person, who asked to remain anonymous, shared some very profound insights and asked some very honest questions about the way we sometimes relate to one another via social media.

I'm sharing this email here, with the person's permission.

I'd like to ask you to read what they have to say and consider how you would respond.
-kg
**

Dear Keith,

I have been reading your stuff off and on for quite a while now.  I joined the facebook "community" too, thinking that it would be encouraging.  I have found the opposite to be true, however.

In real life, as well as here on the internet, it kind of feels like more and more I am "losing my voice" in the Christian community. At so many turns, I feel like the words  I have given as an encouragement to someone have been misinterpreted by someone else and provided an opportunity for attack against me or the person I try to encourage.  I am not a great communicator and I am not a biblical scholar, but I do know the words of Jesus.  So I have been a little surprised and kind of overwhelmed with peoples' responses.  It seems that, in large part, readers immediately see/hear/believe the absolute worst in people they may or may not know. It also seems that we are unable to discuss issues without resorting to attacks on people's character.  This makes me think that perhaps the internet is not the correct place for these conversations, and I have grown silent.

That doesn't mean that I have left my faith, or that I have quit trying to serve the people that Jesus puts in my path.  It just means that I do so more as an individual, and not in cooperation with my church(in my community/at large). Perhaps that is just what Jesus wants for me right now, to possibly grow me up a bit.

I wanted to share a couple of my issues, as they seem to echo here, as well.  I don't know how to reconcile things, and the last thing I want to do is start a new argument, but I feel like I must say something.

I have noticed what seems to me to be a political foundation for a lot of arguments on line.  I come from an area where the Republican party is basically labeled the Christian party, and the Democrats are basically seen as the "lost liberals".  I have seen people (I'm not lying!) shake their heads sadly on hearing that a dear friend voted for a Democrat and say "I thought they were a Christian..."  Maybe I'm just still too "young and foolish" but I have to say that seems so simplistic to me.  I don't get it . When I look at both sides, I have to say that I see good and bad.  We are all, after all, human.

I'm not even really discussing politics, although it all strangely gets lumped into that, it seems.  I just want to follow Jesus, and try to walk in the manner that He calls me to, and it seems that I offend my brothers and sisters in Christ as much or more, actually, than I offend the rest of society. I seriously don't get it.  At the risk of offending your readers, I have to share the extreme example that troubles me so deep down, I don't really know what to do with it.

My family has traveled through parts of the U.S.  We have friends and relatives spread out quite extensively.  I have been shocked to hear people I consider to be brothers and sisters in Christ laugh and joke (but perhaps with some seriousness) that they hope someone will "take out" our president. They have their reasons for not liking him, but this hardly reflects how Jesus told us to treat our enemies.

OK, so you're probably wondering why I would pick something so divisive and political to share here, but let me explain.  I consider myself a very conservative person.  I have committed my life to Jesus.  I am trying to love, honor, and serve Him with my whole heart and life.  Yet, in my little community, I live in fear of being labeled a "liberal" because I don't fit in with everything the Republican party stands for.  For some reason, they have the freedom to make jokes about killing someone, but I don't have the freedom to stand up for the poor or those suffering from racial prejudice. I just can't wrap my brain around it.  It is an alienating thing in a small community to be labeled a liberal.  So how do I/we look at issues without the bias of politics??? I am seriously open to suggestions here, because I am struggling.

The other issue that seems to cause incredible amounts of division is that of police brutality.  I have seen some pretty ugly stuff being said.  Let me say, first of all, that I have dear friends, and even relatives who are officers, and I know that their hearts are committed to serving others and sacrificing for their communities. They have a tremendous opportunity to bring the light of Jesus into some very dark places. As you know, and I have read you affirm, the vast majority of them are outstanding individuals, and many have a relationship with Jesus.

Let me temper what I am about to say first with a word of encouragement for you.  I have been reading your writings for a few years now, and I do not see them as "hate" filled.  What I do see in you is a desire to have a heart like Jesus, and to stand up for those that you believe He would make the extra effort to stand up for.  You seem drawn to issues of justice, and giving a voice to the marginalized.  I agree that those things are important.  We can't just put our heads in the sand and pretend that everything is wonderful just because it is for us. There are people for whom (in our country, as well as around our globe) things aren't that great.  In fact, some things are pretty awful. If my heart doesn't cry out for them, then what does that say about my perception of their value to our Savior? (And I realize the issues are so huge and so many, that it can be overwhelming and where do we even begin?)

We can argue back and forth about the problems of our broken system, the abuse of power, the lack of training of certain people for certain situations and specific people groups, and the issue of racial inequality, but in the end, we often end up with nothing beyond the arguing. So my question is, how do we have meaningful conversations?  And after that, how do we move forward to promote change that leads to living out the love of Jesus in these difficult things? I am seriously asking here.  I don't have the heart to argue, even though my heart is burdened with many of the same things you post. I feel a great need for something more productive, and I don't know what it will take to unify us as the Body of Christ into love in action. I don't even know how to encourage objective discussion that will open our imaginations for what the Spirit might want to do to bring His kingdom to this very dark world. But I feel like the love of Christ compels me to move from words into action.

I also wanted to encourage you, because I feel like I have been reading your stuff long enough now that I kind of know at least a little of you heart.  I can see that you are trying to focus on an issue, and I kind of feel like your character is being attacked.  I'm sure that probably hurts.  Perhaps those people haven't read enough of your stuff to see that you stand up for people who don't have a voice. At any rate, I'm sorry.  May we all be more sensitive to how easily our words are misinterpreted and how damaged we all are.

I remain hopeful for true conversation.  I pray for the Spirit's leadership and grace as we seek to find the common ground of the heart of Jesus for all of His children in the midst of so much ugly messiness. May He bring unity and His kingdom to our hearts and lives.

Sincerely,

A broken follower of Jesus

LOVE, HATE AND THE KINGDOM OF GOD

Believe it or not, some Christians keep a list of people who can be righteously hated and even put to death, in spite of Jesus’ commands to love our enemies and bless those who hate us.

Usually those who fall into this exceptional category are criminals, terrorists, enemies of the state, homosexuals, and abortionists.

Frankly, many Christians have their own private list of who can be/should be put to death. It might be a an ex-spouse, a person who abused them in the past, a drunk driver who took away their loved one, or the umpire who blew the call that ended their team’s chances at a national championship.

It should be obvious to anyone who knows the Gospel of Christ that there are no exemptions when it comes to the commands to love our enemies, bless those who hate us, and do good to those who seek to harm us. None whatsoever.

That means God loves all the same people that you really hate. He loves those people you wish were dead. He loves those people that hurt you, and ripped you off. He loves everyone in prison, no matter what they did to get there. He loves the people who got away with murder, and the people who helped them get away with it.

Now, that doesn’t mean that God loves what they did, or what they do. Far from it. In fact, it’s because he “so loved the world” that he sent Jesus in the first place. Because he saw how horrific we all were without His love, and he sent Jesus to show us what it really looks like – and feels like – to receive that love. He sent Jesus to transform us through His love, and to rescue us from the penalty of a life without His love.

This means that those terrorists you’d like to see burned alive are within reach of God’s grace. Why destroy them before they have an opportunity to know Christ who can transform their hearts?

It reminds me of Jesus’ own disciples who asked “Shall we call down fire from heaven to destroy them?” in reference to a Samaritan village that refused to have Jesus travel through it on his way to Jerusalem. The response Jesus gave to these disciples is the same as what he would say to Christians today who yearn to rain down destruction on anyone: “You do not know what kind of Spirit you are of; for the Son of Man did not come to destroy men’s lives, but to save them.” (John 9:54-56)

Loving our enemies is hard, of course. Our old nature is quick to crave violence and retribution. But Jesus has given us a new nature and a new spirit.

If we really hope to love our enemies, we have to first admit that we do not have access to this kind of love. This sort of unconditional love is just not in us by nature. The closest we can ever come is the love a parent has for a child. But even that example (as profound as it may be) falls short of the extravagant love that God wants to fill us with.

God’s love just “is”. It’s not dependent upon anything the person does, or does not do. And that’s why Jesus can tell us that, if we are abiding in Him, and if He is alive in us, then we will be connected to the constant, eternal flow of Divine Love that flows from the heart of the Trinity and outward into every corner of the Universe. We become conduits of His endless love and therefore everyone around us becomes illuminated in the light of His unconditional love.

And if we are indeed carriers of Christ-like love, then we cannot shoot anyone in the face. We cannot even wish that anyone were dead. We cannot cheer when someone receives the harsh judgment we believe they deserve.

Even God doesn’t take pleasure in the death of the wicked.

“As I live, declares the Lord God, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from his way and live.” (Ezekiel 33:11)

Jesus leaves us no wiggle room here. He loves everyone, and He commands us to love everyone as well.

“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven. For he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? And if you greet only your brothers, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same? You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.” (Matt. 5:43-48)

Those people you hate? God loves them and He commands you to love them, too.

To be a follower of Jesus is to obey His commands. If we struggle with those commands, we must throw ourselves at His feet and beg Him for the grace to love as He loves, forgive as He forgives, and serve others as He serves us.

Love is our tattoo. Love is our song. Love is how Jesus knows that we belong to Him.

“By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.” (John 13:35)

-kg