This one has been bothering me ever since yesterday morning. You have probably heard it said that “you might be the only Jesus some people will ever see“. Those words sank deep into my mind yesterday as I sat in Chicago Midway Airport.
Our flight was delayed for over an hour so the crowd at the gate was huge. The overhead TV was rolling “Good Morning America”. In between reports on the tropical storm headed for Florida, came the days news. The storm didn’t bother me. GMA didn’t bother me either. What bothered me was the report on a church that had lost a law suit to a father of a Marine killed in combat. It wasn’t the lawsuit and it wasn’t the father. It is that church that I cannot get out of my mind.
If you’re like me, you people watch when you go to large places. Airports are a really good for this. I sat there looking at the faces, wondering the stories and intrigued by how different we all are. That is when it hit me. What if Good Morning America is the only Jesus that some of these people will ever see? What if a church that claimed that “God hates fags” is the only gospel they will ever hear? What if the banners and signs of hate are the sermons and worship that will forever ring in their minds when they think of Church, Jesus, Salvation and God?
To further my point, they are claiming on their website that they “Thank God for 10.9 Million”. It is giving them the publicity to share their message. Again, is this the only Jesus or gospel that some will ever hear?
Heaven help us.
disgusting
Wow, that is just simply a bizarre church.
Very, very sad, in fact abominable is more like it. And we wonder why people don’t respect christianity anymore. So much done in Jesus name that makes Him weep.
What can I say? I can’t imagine how much it hurts Him, because I feel like I’ve just been “punched in the stomach” and “stabbed in the heart.” This is not at all a representation of the Jesus I know. God does hate sin, but He loves the sinner (including the homosexual or the judging church member).
I think it’s just a clear indication to us who truly know Him to speak louder–“to shout His name from the roof-tops!!” Let’s just keep doing what He calls us to do–to share with others His love and His message–not just in word, but in deed. While we’re at it, let’s pray for people like this–from the church you mentioned! Let us also be careful to always seek His face and to be careful in our own attitudes–including those towards these “Christian examples” who disgust us so…
Oh, what a compassionate, loving Savior we serve!
In Him,
Janet
Unfortunately, it is those churches that speak the loudest. You, who are righteous, have allowed this to be so and continue to do so. You fear the consequences of pointing out that a church is wrong. You fear that your faith will be questioned. That fear silences you. And this is MORE painful to Christ. Ignorance is excusable. Complacency is not.
I shut down their email server once back in ’96. He tracked down my # and called me personally and threatened to sue. It was REALLY funny.
It’s a stretch to call the Phelps family a bonafide church. More cult than anything else. Interestingly this is the type of people the MSM picks up on and projects as typical Christianity so I understand Aaron’s dilemma. “Mercy triumps over judgment” James 2:13. I see no mercy when it comes to these people. Their cruel behavior at the funerals of our young soldiers is a venomous corruption of WWJD.
Heaven help us indeed.