Some conversations have a way of searing themselves into my brain ... because of the person or people involved, because of the depth of the subject, because of the location, because of the emotion that comes forth. Whatever the reason, there are conversations that I will remember all my life. More often than not, these particular conversations make me think deeply, challenge what I believe, make me search my heart for truth or cause me to dive into the very depths of my soul to evaluate who I truly am.
This week, I've had two such conversations. One involved much emotion and many heartfelt tears ... tears of regret, tears of sorrow, tears of confession. The other dealt with a subject that divides many people, that causes lines to be drawn and sides to be taken. And interestingly, both conversations, though on different levels, were concerning the same controversial topic. And even more interesting, both conversations ended with basically the same two conclusions ... ultimately, the face of hate disappears when the issue at hand wears the face of someone I love, and God's grace covers a multitude of sins.
It's easy to label someone a despicable sinner when that person is an anonymous face in a crowd, but it is altogether different when the person is a friend, a family member or someone I attend church with. When the person is someone I love, grace, mercy and forgiveness quickly replace judgment, hostility or hate. That doesn't mean that the issue or the sin is swept under the carpet or condoned, it simply means that my response suddenly shifts to one of compassion and love. It means that my heart more closely mirrors the heart of Christ ... loving, forgiving, caring, concerned, healing.
Even as I type these words, I know there are things in my life that cause me to deserve judgment or condemnation. There are parts of me that I try desperately to keep hidden away, tucked deeply within, fearing that they will escape from the fortress I have built around them and others will see the real me, the secret me, the me who isn't holy or honorable or sinless.
And yet, those closest to me ... those whom I've allowed inside the walls I've created ... have refused to wear the face of hate but choose instead to wear the face of love. They don't hesitate to call me on my sin, but they love me still, love me completely, love me in spite of who I am. And most important of all, they encourage me, push me, pull me, tug me and point me to the heart of the One who wears the ultimate face of love, the One who paid the supreme price to make me clean, the One who knows my innermost being ... Jesus Christ.
So, go look in the mirror. What does your face look like?
2 comments:
is this a missing page from the new testament? ;) i'm quite intrigued since we hinted at this post last saturday morning. is it one of the topics we discussed by chance?
if all persons who called themselves christians heeded and lived by these words, the world :) wouldn't be such a mess.
you are absolutely right. its easy to cast stones into an abyss full of faceless, nameless people. but when the nameless suddenly have a name! an identity. when the faceless is suddenly the face of someone you cherish. someone you love.
when you know that person's name...and his heart...and her misery...and her love...and his struggles...when you can put a face with a name, when you can identify with that person, when you can make that interpersonal connection...well, suddenly its not so easy, is it?
we'd save ourselves a lot of anguish, trouble and grief if we kept our mouths shut and our hearts closed to hateful, hurtful but very real topics. we should not speak of a subject until we are somewhat learned and / or wise about it. many of us have learned this THE HARD WAY. ;o i know i have. i've eaten A LOT of stupid words in my lifetime!!! :)
challenge to the face in the mirror - let's go out and find out exactly what it is we're talking about and seek out those we are condemning...and see if we can walk away the same person.
hopefully we are no longer blinded by ignorance and hate but are completely and forever changed by our encounter(s) with the faces of those we have befriended and come to know and love.
hopefully we keep the stones in our pockets and instead extend the hand of grace...just as we have been extended grace time and time again by god (and family and friends) for our own foolishness.
it is tragic that many people in the world have no other "face" to pin on christians than the one you've wrote about, the face of hate. we must change! this is absolutely unacceptable behavior and the antithesis of what god must have been hoping for in us. we need to mirror who we say we follow. which one is it then?
kudos to you for challenging us on such a REAL topic. it needs to be addressed if the church has any hope of being effective. we say we want to reach the lost. yet we keep ourselves locked away in ivory towers and impenetrable fortresses so that we can safely throw stones down at the faceless masses of the nameless "them."
PUT A FACE WITH THE NAME AND CHANGE. :)
ROCK ON GIRLFRIEND! :) truly terrific post. :) i loved it! :)
a second (much shorter) comment. its much, much easier to possess compassion when one has been on the receiving end of a hateful or hurtful attitude or comment, and its difficult to believe that most of us have not been there.
perahps next time we are tempted to condemn, we should remember what it felt like to be the one condemned. it at least makes a person stop and think twice about it. :)
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