Posted by Pastoral Musings on 20th December 2008
The Jews therefore said unto him that was cured, It is the sabbath day: it is not lawful for thee to carry thy bed. He answered them, He that made me whole, the same said unto me, Take up thy bed, and walk. Then asked they him, What man is that which said unto thee, Take up thy bed, and walk? And he that was healed wist not who it was: for Jesus had conveyed himself away, a multitude being in that place. Afterward Jesus findeth him in the temple, and said unto him, Behold, thou art made whole: sin no more, lest a worse thing come unto thee. The man departed, and told the Jews that it was Jesus, which had made him whole. And therefore did the Jews persecute Jesus, and sought to slay him, because he had done these things on the sabbath day.
(Jn 5:10-16) KJV
Prejudice is a strange thing. It causes one to look at someone with such jaundiced eyes that their good qualities are missed.
Preconceived notions blind us so much that we do not see beyond the breach of our rules that we have made for ourselves and others.
These things blind us to the glory of God in other’s lives.
The Pharisees were so intent on punishing one who had defiled (in their estimation) the Sabbath that they never even acknowledged that He had just healed a man who had been crippled for almost forty years!
If we are not careful we shall be guilty of the same sort of offense.
Oh, we certainly must hold to the fundamental truths of Christianity as the basis for our fellowship. We must not, however, let issues of Christian liberty, or issues that are debatable and yet not immoral or doctrinally wrong divide us.
Too often, because someone’s music is different from ours, we tend to decide that they are totally bad. How sad for us; and this is only one example of a divisive issue. Many good, godly, sincere Christians listen to music that I do not like. That does not negate their godliness.
We must consider this, too, when we dialogue with people with whom we simply cannot have Christian fellowship. Whether the person is a homosexual, drug addict, atheist, or (fill in the blank) that does not mean that they are not made in the image of God. There will be good points about them. They cannot be dismissed as beyond help. Neither can they be treated rudely. We must not look at the things that divide us from them and forget that they are God’s creatures just as we are.
Let us remember that prejudice and myopia are not Christian character traits. They are the traits of fallen humanity. Thus, while we stand against sin and sinful philosophies, let us remember Jesus’ example:
He was a friend of tax gatherers, harlots, and sinners.
Just musing…
Tags: apologetics, atheist, Christian behavior, Christian division, Christian love, Christian myopia, division, homosexual, Jesus, myopia
Posted in apologetics, Biblical manhood, misc, morality | Comments Off
